Time to give students some authentic math on a topic they will surely be interested in … Starbucks. We ask and answer a few questions in this activity. About how many drinks does Starbucks sell in a year? If I…
Starbucks, 2012
Tag: HS
My Facebook IPO investment
What is an IPO? Are they always good investments? Students analyze charts and data, learn a little about investing, calculate percent loss (unfortunately), and make some Facebook stock projections. facebook-IPO.pdf
Storm cleanup
This activity could be used as an introduction to trig ratios. Students figure out the approximate length of the huge branch that I have to fell for safety and firewood. After approximating the branch’s length, they calculate how many logs…
Video game download
How long will it take me to download the video game? This can be done as a 3 Act Task. To get started simply show the video and following picture to your class. ACT ONE: I decided to download a…
Valentine’s Cardioid
WojciechSwiderski at the Polish language Wikipedia Happy Valentine’s Day! cardioid.pdf This PDF contains four ways students can draw cardioids for Valentine’s Day. CCSS: HSN.CN.B
Negative Exponents? Ugh
This activity/post is a little different than are usual posts. We look at a particular math concept and consider how to use context, models and CCSS math practices to increase student understanding. This activity focuses on negative exponents. Even if you…
Parabolic Pee
Mr. Mark’s new little baby can make some amazingly tall streams. Give your class a little chuckle as you introduce them to parabolic motion with this very short analysis of Mr. Mark’s baby’s talent. CCSS: 8.F.5, HSA.CED.2, HSA.REI, HSG.MG.3 Parabolic-pee.pdf…
Approaching Seven Billion people
To see the present world population, go here. http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ During the Fall 2011 the 7 billionth human on earth was born. The counter mentioned above gives updated approximations of the current world population. When will we hit 8 billion people? …
QR codes ???
Your students have probably seen these images around and might not know why they are becoming popular for smart phone scanning … and possibly dangerous. Students figure out the number of permutations of symbols that are possible with these 2-d…
Why Does it Stay in Orbit?
On Monday, the space shuttle Endeavor launched for the last time. The six astronauts on board docked this morning at the International Space Station to join the 6 astronauts and cosmonauts who live at the ISS. Combine current events, Earth…
Rapunzel
Disney’s animated movie, Tangled, came out in 2010. We’ve shown students some of the Brothers Grimm’s original fairy tale along with giving them a glimpse at the physics involved in the animation of Rapunzel’s hair. Ratios are needed to estimate…
Chocolate Milk and Mixture Understanding
Chemistry experiments and algebra problems sometimes ask students to create percent mixtures or to change a mixture into a stronger or weaker solution by adding more of an ingredient. Students often have difficulty isolating the key concepts involved in this…
Geometry of Flooding
In 2010, March was so rainy that flooding was the topic of every newscast and many, many conversations. The picture shows how students went home from school in Wayland Mass. on March 31st – on a Duckboat. This two page investigation asks…
Two to the … s
Let your students practice exponents, fractional exponents, and roots with this powerful assignment that asks them to compute impressive mathematics in their heads. If you list the values of various 2 to the … s then you can ask students…
Quadratic formula on your calculator
You can program your TI calculator so that a quadratic equations can be solved quickly by just plugging the X ² coefficient, the X coefficient, and the constant into your calculator. Arrange your equation in this form: AX² + BX…