It's About Time
Force Fields
Young scholars investigate both bar and horseshoe magnets. They explore force fields with a compass and iron fillings before making an electromagnet. This is the first in a series of nine lessons.
It's About Time
Cushioning Collisions (Computer Analysis)
Did you know the car bumper is specifically designed to save the car and not the passengers in case of an accident? Young scientists use a computer, a force probe, and a sonic ranger to experiment with external cushioning on cars.
It's About Time
The Rear End Collision
Did you know one in every four car crashes are rear end collisions? The lesson explains what happens to your neck when you are involved in a rear end collision. Scholars experiment and apply Newton's Second Law of Motion.
It's About Time
Automatic Triggering Devices
How does the air bag trigger in an accident? The lesson explores how automatic triggering devices work in automobiles. Using examples such as a seat belt lock and air bag, scholars design their own device to better understand the...
It's About Time
Why Air Bags?
If a heavy steel car can't protect you from injury, how can a bag filled with air? The lesson answers this question and many others as young scientists experiment with the impulse and forces related to air bags in automobiles.
It's About Time
Life (and Fewer Deaths) After Seat Belts
Seat belts reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about half. Scholars continue crashing their cart with a crash test dummy into a wall, but this time, they experiment with different types of seat belts to reduce injuries....
It's About Time
Life (and Death) Before Seat Belts
Did you know only 80-90% of passengers wear a seat belt in a moving car? Young scholars use clay and a cart to complete an experiment about what happens without a seat belt in a collision. The lesson includes Newton's Second Law of...
It's About Time
Accidents
Did you know that cars weren't designed for passenger safety until the 1960s? The lesson starts with a quick quiz on automobile safety. Then, scholars evaluate three cars for their safety features. This is the third in a set of nine...
It's About Time
Speed and Following Distance
How much distance should you keep between your car and the one in front of you? Did you think of an answer in terms of time when the question clearly stated distance? The lesson covers the relationship between distance, time, and speed....
It's About Time
Response Time
How fast are your reactions in the case of an emergency? Young scholars complete many activities including: time estimation, building a circuit, multiple reaction time experiments, and graphing.
Achieve
Framing a House
If members of your class wonder where they can use the math they learn in middle school, let them discover the answer. Learners apply geometry concepts of scale and measure to calculate the costs of framing a house addition.
Achieve
Task: Storage Sheds
Bridge the gap between mathematics and Career Technical Education. Pupils research the cost associated with building storage sheds and analyze possible profit. They build scale models and determine if building and selling the sheds is a...
Charleston School District
Review Unit 3: Functions
Time to show what you know about functions! The review concludes a series of nine lessons on the basics of functions. The problems included are modeled from the previous lessons. Pupils determine if a table represents a function,...
Charleston School District
Graphing Functions
How do letters and numbers create a picture? Scholars learn to create input/output tables to graph functions. They graph both linear and nonlinear functions by creating tables and plotting points.
Charleston School District
The Sum of Angles in a Triangle
An informative lesson contains a brief explanation of how the sum of the angles of a triangle is a line. The lesson continues with determining the missing angle in a triangle, or solving for a variable. Using the sum of the angles, the...
Charleston School District
Review Unit 1: Exponents
What will be on the test? The resource provides comprehensive review items for the content of the unit on exponents. The resource divides the sections in the order you present the lessons during the unit.
Charleston School District
Scientific Notation and Appropriate Units
How do you write a number in scientific notation? The handout and video provide an explanation on how to convert from standard form into scientific notation and vice versa. The resource also contains a short discussion about choosing...
Curated OER
Proofs Of The Pythagorean Theorem?
Even U.S. President James Garfield had his own proof of the Pythagorean Theorem! Pupils consider three different attempts at a geometric proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. They then select the best proof and write paragraphs detailing...
Curated OER
Dental Impressions
What an impressive task it is to make dental impressions! Pupils learn how dentists use proportional reasoning, unit conversions, and systems of equations to estimate the materials needed to make stone models of dental impressions....
Charleston School District
Volume of Composite Shapes
It's the parts that make the whole. Learners apply volume formulas to composite figures to find the total volume of the figure. Previous lessons in this series taught the methods for finding the volume and/or dimensions of...
Charleston School District
The Distance Between Points
Find the shortest distance from A to B using the Pythagorean Theorem! Scholars learn they can find the distance between two points by creating a right triangle using the horizontal and vertical lengths and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.
Charleston School District
Pythagorean Theorem and Converse
You've heard that it is true, but can you prove it? Scholars learn the Pythagorean Theorem through proof. After an overview of proofs of the theorem, learners apply it to prove triangles are right and to problem solve. This is the second...
Charleston School District
Estimating Values of Expressions
You can't evaluate an irrational root expression without a calculator—or can you? Scholars estimate the value of roots within an expression to approximate the value of the expression. Expressions include a mix of square roots and whole...
Charleston School District
Evaluation of Roots
You mean the square root of five and five don't have the same value? Learners estimate the value of irrational roots. As they practice estimating the value, they increase their understanding of roots. The lesson is the fourth in a series...