PBL Pathways
Arsenic and Selenium Removal From Drinking Water at a Minimal Cost
Decide on the most efficient plan to supply drinking water. The second project-based learning task in a two-part series builds upon the first project. Pupils revisit the wells to supply drinking water, but they must make sure the...
PBL Pathways
Death Project
Verify the rule of thumb for finding the time of death. The project-based learning task asks pupils to determine when the rule of thumb process of finding the time of death is appropriate. Learners develop a function for the rule and...
PBL Pathways
Students and Teachers 2
Examine trends in student-to-teacher ratios over time. Building from the first task in the two-part series, classes now explore the pattern of student-to-teacher ratios using a non-linear function. After trying to connect the pattern to...
Big Learning
The Antarctica Project: A Middle School Mathematics Unit
Antarctica is a big place, large enough to provide ample opportunities to learn about math. A two-week unit teaches middle school mathematics concepts using project-based learning. The resource covers functions, geometry (area,...
PBL Pathways
Medical Insurance
Design a plan for finding the best health insurance for your money. Learners compare two health plans by writing and graphing piecewise functions representing the plan rules. Using Excel software, they create a technical report...
PBL Pathways
Medical Insurance 3
Create a technical report explaining the components of a medical plan through a function. The project-based learning activity gives a medical insurance scenario that young mathematicians model using piecewise functions. Their analyses...
PBL Pathways
Maximizing Movie Revenue
Can theaters increase profits by raising or lowering ticket prices? Using data from the National Association of Theater Owners, classes consider this question. The project-based learning activity includes both a profit and revenue...
PBL Pathways
Boogie Boards
Solve a complex business puzzle by building a linear programming model. An engaging project-based learning problem has classes examining transportation costs and manufacturing limitations from several plants. Ultimately, they use their...
PBL Pathways
Cell Phones
Calling all subscribers! Model revenue based on individual cell phone subscribers. The project-based learning activity presents a challenge to scholars from a cell phone company. Individuals model data provided to them from the company...
PBL Pathways
Students and Teachers
Predict the future of education through a mathematical analysis. Using a project-based learning strategy, classes examine the pattern of student-to-teacher ratios over a period of years. Provided with the relevant data, learners create a...
PBL Pathways
Gas Prices
How can math help your vehicle run better? Complete an interesting project-based learning task with your classes to determine the cheapest approach to mixing the ideal octane level of gasoline. Scholars create and solve a system of...
PBL Pathways
College Costs
Predict the year that college costs will double in your state using linear modeling. The first part of this two-part project based learning activity asks young mathematicians to use data from the College Board. They graph the data, write...
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Solar Toasters
Help a company maximize their profits! A detailed project-based learning activity examines two production scenarios. Your young scholars write a linear demand function. They then apply the function to develop a revenue, cost, and profit...
Intel
What Does This Graph Tell You?
What can math say about natural phenomena? The fifth STEM lesson in this project-based learning series asks collaborative groups to choose a phenomenon of interest and design an experiment to simulate the phenomenon. After collecting...
PBL Pathways
What Should Have Happened on Gilligan's Island?
"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale ..." Gilligan's Island is a classic that spans generations and offers a problem-solving opportunity for scholars. Take a project-based learning approach to examine the population of the island....
PBL Pathways
Do Homework?
To complete homework or not to complete homework ... that is the question. Decide whether it makes a difference on finals by doing homework. Individuals create a scatter plot and find a line of best fit for data on the percent of...
PBL Pathways
Biscuits
Calculate the nutrients in different types of dog biscuits. Pupils create a technical report outlining the amount of calcium, protein, and carbohydrates in three types of dog biscuits. The project-based learning activity requires...
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Medical Insurance 2
Make an informed decision when choosing a medical insurance provider. An engaging lesson asks your classes to write piecewise models to represent the cost of different medical plans. The project-based learning activity is a variation of...
PBL Pathways
Lake Pollution
Explain the timing of a lake cleanup to the EPA using calculus. A project-based learning opportunity has learners compare rate functions to compute a total change. Their solutions explain the time needed to rid a lake of pollutants.
Teach Engineering
Service-Based Engineering Design Project
Do some good for the community while learning about engineering. Groups complete a service-based engineering design project over the course of five weeks. The resource provides guidance on how to conduct the project and help pupils get...
Out-of-School Time Resource Center
Nutrition and Physical Activity
Emerging nutritionists explore what it means to be healthy. In the beginning of the unit, your class will examine the five food groups and learn how food gets from the farm to our plates. This leads into the investigation of the...
Federal Reserve Bank
Insurance Inventory
Do you have enough insurance? Pupils may be surprised to learn how much their possessions are worth. This activity asks them to create an inclusive list and make a comparison to their insurance coverage. According to the statistics, most...
PBL Pathways
Potassium-Argon Dating
Find the age of a fictional sample of rocks using a genuine approach. A well-designed lesson asks young mathematicians to use exponential modeling to analyze half-life. As a project-based learning activity, scholars communicate their...
PBL Pathways
College Costs 2
What is the financial benefit for attending a community college for the first two years before transferring to a four-year college? The second part of the educational lesson asks young scholars to explore this question through data...