Here’s the rental sign. How much will 6 lounges and 2 umbrellas cost?
Category: Algebra
These posts help students see patterns and relationships.
Olympic Skateboarding + more
We are very excited to see skateboarding as an event in the Tokyo Olympics. Skateboarding is athletic, artistic and difficult to master. Why has it taken so long to become an Olympic sport? What events will you be able to…
Beautiful mathematics
Ranked Choice Voting in NYC
New York City is still tallying its election results for a new Mayor. This year they tried Ranked Choice Voting. What does that mean? How does that work? What are the ramifications of this sort of voting? Do you think that this will be a fairer and more positive way of electing a Mayor? Students experiment with the technique of tallying the votes using our flow chart and make some observations and decisions about the process.
Betsy Ross’s 5-pointed star + 4th of July activities
3 activities for the Fourth of July: (1) Folding analysis to make a 5-pointed star; (2) Parabola manipulation to create a fireworks image on your calculator; and (3) Ratios, creativity, and art in creating new flag patterns.
How much is a trillion dollars?
U.S. Congress is now debating how much money to approve on spending for infrastructure. The numbers are between 1 and 3 trillion dollars. I can’t even fathom that amount of money. Is there a way to imagine it in proportion to something else?
Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice
Two activities for Father’s Day, one activity for the summer solstice, and lots of chocolate fun.
Payday loans – What are they?
What is a payday loan? How is it different from a bank loan or debt on a credit card? Is this a good idea?
Monopoly and summer games
In the board game, Monopoly, does a property’s distance from GO correlate to its rent when you land on it? Using Brian’s spread sheet (list of properties, distance from GO, rent and rent with properties), students create scatter plots. They…
Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest will return this year
Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held each July 4th since 1972.
What do you wonder about this event?
What questions do you have from looking at all of this historical data?
How have the records changed?
Why do you think that is?
How many hot dogs can a human possibly eat in 10 minutes?
Memorial Day 2021
Who are we honoring? How did the holiday come about? Isn’t Memorial Day usually on May 30th?
Students learn a little about the history of the holiday, analyze the possibilities and patterns for when it is celebrated and make observations about the incredible numbers of deaths that have been caused by war.
Tree for Springtime
Here in the Northeast, flowers are blooming and trees are leafing out. We thought the creation of a tree that grows before your eyes might be akin to what is going on all around us. What do you see that…
Can I get your order right?
Updated! You can order a ton of combos at Chipotle. They advertise that there are 65,000 ways to order their meals. Do you think that is correct?
Shooting for Three
The NBA court has a 3-point line that separates how many points a player will earn for his team by making a basket from outside of that line. Teams have been shooting more and more three’s, but should they be and why?
How much did the tooth fairy give you when you lost a tooth?
What was the going tooth rate in your house? Do you think that, on average, you were paid well or were you disappointed? Was your first tooth lost especially remunerative? Look at historical averages and check out how you did.