Model the flight of a ball. Small groups collect time data for how long it takes to toss a ball between two people. The teacher leads a discussion about projectile motion to get the class thinking about how to calculate the equation of the quadratic function that models the projectile motion. Pupils then use two different methods to calculate the equation and compare the two equations.

Concepts

projectile motion, quadratic functions, vertex form of an equation, vertex, systems of equations, quadratic applications

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Additional Tags

math

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Instructional Ideas

• Lead a discussion on the fact that the independent variable is time and not distance, so the graph is not the actual path of the ball

Classroom Considerations

• Requires the class to be comfortable with solving systems of equations
• Assumes individuals have knowledge of different forms of quadratic equations and their properties

Pros

• Includes detailed information for the teacher on how to solve for the coefficients of the quadratic
• Contains links to videos of projectile motion
• Provides a rubric for each part of the task

Cons

• None

Common Core

MP4 MP5 MP6 HSA-SSE.A.2 HSA-SSE.B.3.a HSA-CED.A.2 HSA-REI.C.6 HSF-BF.A.1.a