Space shuttles traveled around Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour, way faster than trains, planes, or automobiles travel! In the 13th installment of 22, groups graph different speeds to show how quickly spacecraft move through space compared to ordinary object movement. Pupils see the difference between linear graphs and logarithmic graphs to help them compare speeds of the objects.

Concepts

speed, graphing, logarithmic scale

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Place learners in pairs and ask the class to estimate the speed of a human walking and post on the board; then pass out actual speeds and have them graph the data, stopping periodically to discuss the graphs

Classroom Considerations

• Assumes learners can graph well
• Talk to math teachers to see when logarithmic scales or graphs are discussed and incorporate this lesson at the same time or shortly thereafter

Pros

• Provides fair of amount of data on speeds of different objects for comparison
• Activity requires few materials, so it is easy to set up

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.6-8.3