Bowland
Patchwork Cushions
Find out if there are enough squares. Given diagrams for the first four figures in a sequence, pupils try to determine the next figure. Individuals find the number of square and triangle pieces of fabric that are required to make...
Bowland
Ice Cream
Make sure there is enough ice cream on hand. Learners try to find out how much ice cream to buy for a sports event. Scholars use a pie chart showing the percent of a sample of people who like different flavors of ice cream. Using the...
Bowland
Hot Under the Collar
It is close enough for all practical purposes. Pupils see two methods to convert degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit, one with exact numbers and another using estimation. Learners review both methods and determine when the estimation...
Bowland
Counting Trees
Let's find a way to determine how many there are. Given a diagram of trees on a plantation, pupils devise a way to estimate the number of old and new trees. Using their methods, learners create estimates for the number of the two types...
Bowland
Lottery
Take a chance on raising money. Learners calculate probabilities to determine whether a lottery is a good way to raise money. Pupils determine the number of combinations of choosing two numbers between one and six. Using the sample...
NASA
Chasing Down a Satellite
Calculate the speed of the International Space Station. By reading the article, pupils learn about the concept of orbits. Scholars work through a formula to determine how fast the International Space Station is traveling to stay in...
Prestwick House
Wonderstruck
Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick's young-adult tale of two preteens who set alone on a quest, provides the text for the clues in a crossword puzzle. A great way to check on readers who were struck by the novel.
Illustrative Mathematics
Random Walk III
Don't cross the line; just walk along it. Scholars investigate a scenario in which a person starts at zero on a number line, then moves left or right depending on a flip of a coin. They determine the number of outcomes for six flips,...
Concord Consortium
Sloppy Student II
Doesn't trying two substitutions prove it is equal? Individuals analyze a given polynomial division problem to determine whether the answer is correct. Classmates continue to determine what values to use that show the answer and the...
Concord Consortium
Short Pappus
It's all Greek to me. Scholars work a task that Greeks first formulated for an ancient math challenge. Provided with an angle and a point inside the angle, scholars develop conjectures about what is true about the shortest line segment...
Concord Consortium
Shooting Arrows through a Hoop
The slope makes a difference. Given an equation of a circle and point, scholars determine the relationship of the slope of a line through the point and the number of intersections with the circle. After graphing the relationship, pupils...
Concord Consortium
School Bus Routes
Plan the way to school. Given a map of a school district, class members portray a transportation consultant hired to develop a bus transportation plan that will pick up the eligible riders and get them to school. The plan must contain...
Concord Consortium
Rectangulating
Use rectangles to find distances. Given a rectangle and three associated triangles, pupils determine the area of the triangles. Scholars know the three triangles have equal areas along with the perimeter of the rectangle and two other...
Concord Consortium
Sharp-Ness of Bends
Define the sharpest in the group. Given a section of a trail map, pupils determine a method to measure the sharpness of each turn in the path. Individuals then determine what modifications to their formulas to make to find the sharpness...
Concord Consortium
Same Solution Equations
Group equations by their solutions. Given six different equations, pupils determine which have the same solutions. Scholars explain why some are the same and some are different.
Concord Consortium
Petit Fours
Four 4s represent the counting numbers. Pupils attempt to write equivalent expressions to as many counting numbers as possible using only four 4s. Scholars then determine whether the same feat is possible using only three 3s.
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...
Concord Consortium
Rising Prices
What will that cost in the future? The scenario provides pupils with a growth as a Consumer Price Index. Learners create functions for a given item to determine future prices and graph them. Class members then compare their functions to...
Concord Consortium
Quadratic Reflections
Reflect upon the graphs of quadratic functions. Given a quadratic function to graph, pupils determine whether the graph after a horizontal and vertical reflection is still a function. The final two questions ask scholars to describe a...
Concord Consortium
Poly II
Create polynomials with specific values. The task consists of writing three polynomial functions that evaluate to specific values for any given number. Scholars first find a polynomial that evaluates to one for a given value, then a...
Concord Consortium
Proportional Representation
Sometimes the solution is all a matter of perspective. The short assessment task presents a problem to pupils that requires them to make sense of a diagram. Once learners see two similar triangles, the rest of the solution is solving a...
Concord Consortium
Perfect Ten
How many ways can you make 10? Class members tackle three problems to find all possible ways three numbers add to be 10. The first is with positive integers, secondly with non-negative integers, and finally with real numbers. Pupils also...
Concord Consortium
People and Places
Graph growth in the US. Given population and area data for the United States for a period of 200 years, class members create graphs to interpret the growth over time. Graphs include population, area, population density, and population...
Concord Consortium
Parameters and Clusters II
Let's give parameters a second try. Scholars take a second look at a system of linear equations that involve a parameter. Using their knowledge of solutions of systems of linear equations, learners describe the solution to the system as...