Curated OER
Comparing Exponentials
Growing money exponentially is the context of this scenario that asks learners to compare investments in two certificate of deposit accounts. Your young investment analysts will learn about the exponential characteristics of money...
Curated OER
Equal Factors Over Equal Intervals
Exponential functions and their growth rates are explored concretely using tables in a collaborative task. Then the successive quotient is explored algebraically.
Curated OER
Carbon 14 Dating, Variation 2
Your archaeologists begin this task with a table of values to estimate the time passed based on the half-life of Carbon 14 remaining in a plant. They then move on to find when a specific amount of Carbon 14 is present in the same plant,...
Curated OER
A Valuable Quarter
Your young bankers model an account balance with an exponential function and solve the equation by extracting a root or taking a logarithm. The task involves the context of annual and compounding interest as well as some interesting...
Curated OER
Two Points Determine an Exponential Function I
Learners construct an exponential function from a graph, and two given points on the graph, as they analyze what makes up an exponential function.
Curated OER
Viral Marketing
What is "viral marketing" and how does it relate to mathematics? Young mathematicians use exponential functions to develop a mathematical model for a business advertising campaign. Learners then see how their campaigns increase...
Curated OER
Exponential Growth Versus Linear Growth I
Your algebra learners will discover how quickly an exponential function value grows compared to a linear function's value. Making a table of values helps in this comparison, set in the context of making a wage for raking leaves.
Curated OER
Exponential Functions
Your algebra learners analyze and interpret the general form and the graph of two functions. The increase of the function due to the multiplicative factor is emphasized.
Howard County Schools
Generous Aunt
Witness the power of exponential growth with an activity that investigates two different savings plans. Class members create tables of values to see how and when a savings plan increasing exponentially exceeds one increasing linearly.
Annenberg Foundation
Skeeters Are Overrunning the World
Skeeters are used to model linear and exponential population growth in a wonderfully organized lesson plan including teachers' and students' notes, an assignment, graphs, tables, and equations. Filled with constant deep-reaching...
Curated OER
What Functions do Two Graph Points Determine?
Your algebra learners write linear, exponential, and quadratic equations containing the same two graph points in this collaborative task.
Curated OER
Exponential Growth versus Polynomial Growth
Your algebra learners explore the values of two types of functions in order to compare growth rates in this short cooperative task. Two types of solutions are given, using a table of values and an abstract argument.
PBL Pathways
What Should Have Happened on Gilligan's Island?
"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale ..." Gilligan's Island is a classic that spans generations and offers a problem-solving opportunity for scholars. Take a project-based learning approach to examine the population of the island....
Curated OER
Rising Gas Prices – Compounding and Inflation
Financial literacy skills and exponential models are connected by the compound interest formula in this task centered on inflation calculations. Collaborative learners get experience collecting data from the given websites and exploring...
Howard County Schools
Discounting Tickets
A boss who can't do math? Oh, no! Young entrepreneurs use linear and exponential models to determine which discount will yield the most profit on ticket sales.
Curated OER
Illegal Fish
Your young fishermen learn about exponential function growth by interpreting the pieces of the given equation within the context of numbers of fish in a lake.
Howard County Schools
Maria’s Quinceañera
How long will it take to save up for a car? Classmates use linear and exponential models to see how money received during a Quinceanera will grow over time.
Curated OER
Carbon 14 Dating in Practice II
Your archaeologists combine proportional reasoning with exponential functions in a real-life task centered on Carbon 14 dating.
Curated OER
Carbon 14 Dating in Practice I
Analyzing and evaluating exponential functions will help your archaeologists find the amount of Carbon 14 remaining in a plant in this real-life task centered on carbon dating. Learners will also be introduced to the concept of...
Curated OER
Basketball Bounces, Assessment Variation 2
This un-scaffold summative assessment tasks learners to use the height of a bouncing basketball, given the data in graph and table form, to choose the model that is represented. Learners then use the model to answer questions about...
Curated OER
A Saturating Exponential
Your learners analyze the familiar model of a cold beverage warming when it is taken out of the refrigerator. The general form of the equation and its graph are presented. Learners learn about the specific pieces of the function by...
Illustrative Mathematics
The Djinni’s Offer
The djinni in this resource offers gold coins. Learners use the properties of exponents to make their decision as one offer increases exponentially. This makes a great group project. As the commentary suggests, start by having groups...
Curated OER
Newton's Law of Cooling
Your Algebra learners analyze and solve an exponential equation in this popular, real-life model of the cooling of a liquid.
Curated OER
Population and Food Supply
What does it mean for something to grow exponentially, and how does that compare to linear growth? This activity tries to help learners gain an understanding of these concepts while modeling real-world problems. Linear and exponential...