Curated OER
Measuring the Area of a Circle
When mathematical errors happen, part of the learning is to figure out how it affects the rest of your calculations. The activity has your mathematicians solving for the area of a circular pipe and taking into consideration any errors...
Illustrative Mathematics
Seven Circles III
A basic set-up leads to a surprisingly complex analysis in this variation on the question of surrounding a central circle with a ring of touching circles. Useful for putting trigonometric functions in a physical context, as well as...
Mrs. Burke's Math Page
The Amazing Pi Race
Add a sense of excitement to your math class with this race across the country. Using their knowledge of all things circular, young mathematicians work in pairs answering a series of pi-related word problems as they hop from one city to...
EngageNY
The Most Famous Ratio of All
Pupils develop a definition of a circle based upon its radius in the 17th segment of a 28-part series. They determine the relationship between the radius and the diameter of a circle. To round out the lesson, they use the formula for the...
Radford University
Discover Radians!
No need for radians to be mysterious. Scholars use a cardboard cut-out of a unit circle and measure the radius and circumference using a piece of string. They consider the number of radii needed to cover the entire circumference and use...
Teach Engineering
The Great Gravity Escape
Groups simulate an orbit using a piece of string and a water balloon. Individuals spin in a circular path and calculate the balloon's velocity when the clothes pin can no longer hold onto the balloon.
Mrs. Burke's Math Page
Let Them Eat Pi
Looking for a fun and creative way to celebrate Pi Day? Then this is the resource for you. From a scavenger hunt and trivia contest to PowerPoint presentations and skills practice worksheets, this collection of materials is a...
Virginia Department of Education
Arc Length and Area of a Sector
What do skateboarding and baked goods have in common with math? You can use them to connect half-pipe ramps and cakes to arcs and sectors. Pupils compare the lengths of three different ramp options of a skate park. They calculate the...
Curated OER
Worksheet for Pi
Who needs a pie-eating contest when you have a pi-ology game! Celebrate March 14th with a fun board game about pi and other geometric concepts. As learners answer questions about geometry, they move around the board to collect...
101 Questions
Car Caravan
Keep playing with those old toy cars! Pupils estimate the number of toy cars in an art installation. The only information they receive is a picture showing the toy cars arranged in concentric rings and the diameter of the overall...
Curated OER
Model Air Plane Acrobatics
Your young airplane enthusiasts will enjoy this collaborative task of graphing an airplane's distance from the ground as it flies in a perfect circle. They will discover that they have graphed a sinusoidal function that comes from the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Running Around a Track I
The accuracy required by the design and measurement of an Olympic running track will surprise track stars and couch potatoes alike. Given a short introduction, the class then scaffolds into a detailed analysis of the exact nature of the...