Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Population Dynamics
Will human population growth always be exponential, or will we find a limiting factor we can't avoid? Young scientists learn about both exponential and logistic growth models in various animal populations. They use case studies to...
Mathalicious
XBOX Xpotential
Touchdown! This is an exponentially insightful lesson that explores the growth of football games with different video game consoles. Class members discuss whether the increase of mergahertz can be described as linear or exponential. The...
Mathalicious
The Fall of Javert
Falling off a bridge might not sound like your idea of a good math problem, but incorporating the final scene of Les Misérables is sure to spark interest. The goal is to use the time Javert fell off the bridge to determine how high he...
Mt. San Antonio Collage
Exponential Growth and Decay
Start with the basics and move up the exponential ladder to master a variety of problem-solving and application problems. The problems are heavy on exponential growth and decay, compound interest, and natural log.
EngageNY
The Power of Exponential Growth
How do you make a penny grow to $5,000 in just 15 days? Use the examples in this activity to explore the concept of exponential growth and its comparison to linear models. Pupils come to understand that exponential growth eventually...
Flipped Math
Calculus AB/BC - Unit 7 Review: Differential Equations
Differentiate everyone's knowledge. Pupils work through nine review questions to highlight key concepts from Unit 7. Items range from finding slope fields and reasoning with them to finding general and particular solutions of...
Flipped Math
Calculus AB/BC - Exponential Models with Differential Equations
Exponential models come with a shortcut. Pupils watch an example of how to determine if a differential equation is an exponential model. Learners realize the solution is in the same formula, allowing for a quick way to determine the...
Flipped Math
Exponential Decay
The values keep getting smaller—quickly! Pupils watch a video that contrasts exponential decay with exponential growth from the first lesson in the unit. Learners identify exponential functions that are decaying and create graphs of...
Flipped Math
Exponential Growth
They grow by leaps and bounds. Learners watch a quick review on function notation as they prepare to learn more about exponential growth. Using their knowledge from sequences, pupils find out whether a function is linear or exponential,...
EngageNY
Logarithmic and Exponential Problem Solving
Just how old is it? The 22nd portion to a 23-part Precalculus unit uses radiocarbon dating and other exponential modeled real-world problems. Learners use the inverse relationship between logarithms and exponentials to solve the problem...
Radford University
Are You Faster than Bacteria?
Just how fast does bacteria grow? Over the course of three lessons, pupils investigate exponential growth with the use of bacteria growth. During the lesson, bacteria from a cell phone is grown to make a connection to real life. Using...
Radford University
Feeding the World
Using technology, pupils find an exponential function to model the population growth of the US. With more information, learners derive the population growth formula for the world. Ultimately, they determine the amount of protein needed...
Concord Consortium
Rule of 72
Find an easier way to double it. Using the price of an item and the Consumer Price Index, learners determine how long it will be for the price to double. Scholars calculate the length of time it would take for the price to double using a...
CCSS Math Activities
Smarter Balanced Sample Items: High School Math – Claim 4
What is the appropriate model? Sample problems show the extent of the Smarter Balanced assessments Claim 4, Modeling and Data Analysis. Items provide pupils the opportunity to use mathematical modeling to arrive at a reasonable answer....
101 Questions
Lunch
Traditional lamian, a noodle originating from China, is hand shaped by twisting, stretching, and folding the dough into strands. Scholars observe the technique before determining the length of the final noodle. They use exponential...
101 Questions
Double Sunglasses
If you wear two sets of sunglasses, do you get twice the darkness? Pupils explore an enlightening topic using a video and math model. They discover how to extend the topic through a sequel video and challenge question.
Howard County Schools
To Babysit or Not to Babysit?
Would you work for a penny today? Use this activity to highlight the pattern of increase in an exponential function. Scholars compare two options of being paid: one linear and one exponential. Depending on the number of days worked, they...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Debt and Wars
Take a functional approach to the national debt. Learners collect information about the national debt by decade and plot the data. They determine whether an exponential curve is a good fit for the data by comparing the percent changes...
CK-12 Foundation
Solving Equations with Exponents: Money Over Time
We'd all like to see our money double. An interactive shows how an initial investment of $1,000 will increase using a constant rate of return. Scholars answer a set of challenge questions based on the situation.
Virginia Department of Education
Exponential Modeling
Investigate exponential growth and decay. A set of six activities has pupils collecting and researching data in a variety of situations involving exponential relationships. They model these situations with exponential functions and solve...
Illustrative Mathematics
Carbon 14 Dating in Practice I
How old is the plant? Here is a task that presents the exponential decay function for carbon 14 in a plant. Pupils use the function to estimate the amount of carbon 14 in the plant when it died and analyze the function to find what the...
Balanced Assessment
Catenary
Develop a model for a hanging chain. Pupils find a mathematical model for a hanging chain and then they compare their models to the precise function that models the curve. Scholars come up with a strategy to determine how close their...
Balanced Assessment
A Loud Noise
In a scale measuring noise, an increase in 10 dB is a 10 time increase in power. Mathematicians examine the data graph of a real world exponential growth, with no logarithmic scale, and then create two equations relating the decibels and...
California Mathematics Project
Viral Marketing
Math's gone viral—in the form of an exponential function! The activity uses an exponential function to model the growth of a marketing strategy. Learners create a table of values to observe the pattern in the numbers and then model the...