EngageNY
Ferris Wheels—Tracking the Height of a Passenger Car
Watch your pupils go round and round as they explore periodic behavior. Learners graph the height of a Ferris wheel over time. They repeat the process with Ferris wheels of different diameters.
EngageNY
A Surprising Boost from Geometry
Working with imaginary numbers — this is where it gets complex! After exploring the graph of complex numbers, learners simplify them using addition, subtraction, and multiplication.
EngageNY
Are All Parabolas Congruent?
Augment a unit on parabolas with an instructive math activity. Pupils graph parabolas by examining the relationship between the focus and directrix.
EngageNY
Multiplying and Dividing Rational Expressions
Five out of four people have trouble with fractions! After comparing simplifying fractions to simplifying rational expressions, pupils use the same principles to multiply and divide rational expressions.
EngageNY
Equivalent Rational Expressions
Rational expressions are just fancy fractions! Pupils apply fractions concepts to rational expressions. They find equivalent expressions by simplifying rational expressions using factoring. They include limits to the domain of the...
EngageNY
Modeling Riverbeds with Polynomials (part 1)
Many things in life take the shape of a polynomial curve. Learners design a polynomial function to model a riverbed. Using different strategies, they find the flow rate through the river.
EngageNY
Graphing Factored Polynomials
Young mathematicians graph polynomials using the factored form. As they apply all positive leading coefficients, pupils demonstrate the relationship between the factors and the zeros of the graph.
EngageNY
Comparing Methods—Long Division, Again?
Remember long division from fifth grade? Use the same algorithm to divide polynomials. Learners develop a strategy for dividing polynomials using what they remember from dividing whole numbers.
EngageNY
Successive Differences in Polynomials
Don't give your classes the third degree when working with polynomials! Teach them to recognize the successive differences and identify the degree of the polynomial. The lesson leads learners through a process to develop an understanding...
Mathematics Assessment Project
100 People
It's a small world after all. In the middle school assessment task, learners use data that imagines there are only 100 people in the world to answer questions about population demographics. Young mathematicians use ratio and proportional...
Mathematics Assessment Project
A Million Dollars
Could you carry a million dollars in $1 bills? As a middle school assessment task, learners investigate different questions regarding a million dollars. They then determine how long it would take to make a million dollars, how...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Sports Bag
Why not give surface area of cylinders a sporting chance in your classroom? A strategic problem-solving task requires pupils to consider the net of a cylinder. Individuals must determine the sizes of the pieces needed to make a...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Multiplying Cells
Powers of two: it's a matter of doubling. A short summative assessment task asks pupils to determine a process to calculate the number of cells at given time intervals. They use powers of two in order to calculate the number of...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Connecting Fractions and Rational Expressions
Teach class members to work with rational expressions using their knowledge of fractions. The lesson plan starts with a warm-up of rational expressions at four different levels of complexity. The different levels continue throughout...
Mathematics Assessment Project
A Day Out
An applicable task presents a problem for pupils to solve: where to go for a class field trip. The pupils must take into consideration the first and second choices of members of the class when determining where to go. Individuals also...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Yogurt
Daily production of dairy? Determine profit and production requirements for a yogurt company with unit conversions and percentages to solve problems.
Mathematics Assessment Project
T-Shirt Sale
Everyone loves a sale! As pupils investigate a sale on t-shirts, they determine the percent discount and original prices.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Square
Don't be a square! Young mathematicians determine the slope and length of a line segment. They then prove whether four given coordinate points form a square.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Sale!
Let's save some money! High schoolers investigate different options for price reductions. They then determine the best and worst sale from a list of options.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Leaky Faucet
In the assessment task, learners investigate the rate at which a faucet leaks. They use unit conversions to determine the amount of water that leaks in a year. Maybe they should just fix the leak!
Mathematics Assessment Project
Cubic Graph
Connect cubic graphs to equations. After connecting solutions of a cubic equation to zeros of its related cubic function, pupils investigate a translation of the cubic function.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Sorting Functions
There's no sorting hat here. A high school assessment task prompts learners to analyze different types of functions. They investigate graphs, equations, tables, and verbal rules for four different functions.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Multiple Solutions
So many different kinds of equations and inequalities! Learners solve equations and inequalities with quadratics and other higher-order polynomials. They then classify the equations based on the number of solutions.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Bird’s Eggs
Are the length and width of birds' eggs related? Young ornathologists use a scatter plot to investigate the relationship between the length and width of eggs for Mallard ducks. They then determine the egg with the greatest...