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Interactive
PBS

Map a Model Solar System

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Creating a solar system map is a snap thanks to a hands-on activity! Science scholars explore the solar system by building it wherever they choose during an interactive from PBS's Space series. Users pick both the location and scale for...
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Activity
DiscoverE

LIDAR: Mapping with Lasers

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
We would be lost without maps! How are they made? Introduce junior topographers to LIDAR technology with a fascinating activity. Set up a mock city, then have learners operate a laser measure to determine the shape of the landscape using...
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Unit Plan
Norwich Institute for Language Education

Simple Machines

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Planning a unit on simple machines? Save some time and energy with this collection of lessons and activities that explores how these devices are used in the real world to make life a little easier. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Distances on the Number Line 2

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Simple tasks are presented for your seventh grade math masters. They are to determine whether two numbers on a number line are equidistant from zero and what the two added together would be.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Velocity of Traffic on Highway 26

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Physics fanatics time five cars as they pass on the highway. They use the times and a 20-yard distance to calculate velocity. They also graph distance vs. time. A page of student pre-lab questions is provided in addition to the activity...
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PPT
Curated OER

Problem Solving: Draw a Diagram

For Teachers 4th - 5th
This problem solving PowerPoint presents a detailed, logical sequence of steps to follow in order to solve a story problem. The thinking processes described are given in text and represented by a visual model. After discussing the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Regents High School Examination - Physics 2010

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Give every type of learner in your physics class an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned throughout the year. From analyzing tables and graphs, to evaluating diagrams and solving problems, there is an outstanding variety of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Intercepting Villans Using the Correct Rate

For Teachers 4th - 8th
A Cyberchase video introduces the distance = rate x time equation. Participants then calculate answers to proposed problems and graph a series of results that is then incorporated into a game to help cement the concept. A thorough and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Orienteering

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Everything you wanted to know about orienteering, and more! Take your class on an adventure with this creative activity. You will need to gather some supplies and materials and maps for your specific location, but the unit sounds like it...
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Activity
Under the Dome

Sphero Draw and Drive

For Students 7th Standards
Determine how far the ball rolled. The class watches a video of a person controlling a sphere rolling on the floor. Pupils develop some questions about the video and make estimates to the solutions of the questions. The teacher provides...
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Activity
Las Cumbres Observatory

How Big is the Solar System?

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Find out if it's possible to travel to the edge of the solar system. Learners use a piece of string to model the distance between planets in the solar system. They then use the distances to calculate how long it would take to travel to...
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Lesson Plan
Las Cumbres Observatory

The Cosmic Distance Ladder: Parallax

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Scientists don't have a ruler long enough to measure to the stars, so they rely on math. Scholars learn to calculate the distance from Earth to a star using the parallax method. They use angle measures from different perspectives to...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Curves from Geometry

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Escape to investigate hyperbolas. Pupils take a look at what happens to the elliptical orbital path of a satellite that exceeds escape velocity as the opener to the eighth lesson in a unit of 23. Scholars analyze basic hyperbolas and how...
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Performance
Radford University

The Roanoke Adventure!

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Travel about town. Pupils work in pairs to find the distances between landmarks with a map. The teams determine how far to travel on the streets and the length between the landmarks with the distance formula and compare the two. Learners...
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Performance
Radford University

Ancient Aqueduct Analysis Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Let the class' knowledge of geometry flow like water in an aqueduct. Future mathematicians research ancient Roman aqueducts and consider the geometric concepts necessary in their construction. They then use GeoGebra to create models of...
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Unit Plan
Radford University

The Pythagorean Theorem in Crime Scene Investigation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It's a Pythagorean who-dun-it. Pupils apply the Pythagorean Theorem in several different real-world scenarios involving right triangles. By solving each task, they find the thief who was responsible for a museum heist.
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Unit Plan
Radford University

Google Earth Trip

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Travel the world instantly—and learn about math along the way. Using pictures of famous places taken from Google Earth, scholars look for parallel and perpendicular lines based on slope and angle measurements. They also calculate...
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Performance
Radford University

Getting Around Millbrook

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
When is the distance formula not accurate? Referencing a map of the school, pairs determine the walking distance between two locations. Creating coordinates for each location, pupils determine the distance between the two points and...
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Performance
Radford University

Triangular Irrigation

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Try to keep the pipe short. Learners investigate where to place a water pump to use the least amount of pipe. Scholars use their knowledge of reflections and congruent triangles to find the best location for the water pump. Finally, they...
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Performance
Radford University

Distance and Midpoint Formulas in a Mall

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Go for a walk in the mall. Pupils find distances between stores on a diagram of a mall on Quadrant I. The scholars also determine the midpoint between a store and an entrance to the mall to then create their own paths and determine their...
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Unit Plan
Radford University

Midsummer Classic’s Homerun Derby

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Hit a home run with your lessons. A two-part activity has learners explore quadratic equations that model the path of a baseball. They see how changing the initial speed of the ball affects its maximum height, maximum horizontal...
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Unit Plan
Radford University

Earthquake Problem

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Shake up things in the classroom. The unit uses earthquakes to bring a real-life connection to finding arc lengths, logarithms, and equations of circles. Small groups determine whether particular towns would have felt an earthquake after...
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Unit Plan
Radford University

Right Triangle Applications: Lesson 3

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Find the connection between trigonometry and tornadoes. Pairs investigate a tornado in Joplin, Mo., and use trigonometry to find its size. The pupils determine the path of the tornado and find the distance needed to travel to help...
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Unit Plan
Radford University

Right Triangle Applications: Lessons 1 and 2

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Use right triangles for more than just mathematical problems. The first two lessons of a unit ask pupils determine distances between cities by using the Pythagorean Theorem and a map. To cement understanding, learners use trigonometric...