Illustrative Mathematics
Archimedes and the King's Crown
Learners will shout "Eureka!" in this quick but deep activity replicating the famous bathtub experiment of Archimedes. Given the scenario of a king with a suspected fake crown, young investigators develop formulas using density to...
Mathed Up!
Compound Measures
Compounding is dividing units. Pupils practice using compound measures such as units for speed and density to solve problems that range from straightforward speed problems to those requiring conversions. The last few items challenge...
Concord Consortium
All-in-All Problems
Graphs, functions, symbols, and more! Use these strategies to model everything from the flow of a river to the number of cars passing a toll booth. Presented differently but solved similarly, learners consider five different scenarios...
Illustrative Mathematics
Writing Constraints
Use this resource to present your number crunchers with how to write a constraint equation and to determine viable solutions. The price of an object limits the amount that can be purchased. The speed at which you walk limits the number...
Mathematics Assessment Project
A Golden Crown?
In this assessment task, learners determine whether a crown with given information is composed of pure gold. The task expects algebraic and numerical solution methods, so unlike Archimedes, no bathtub is necessary.
Inside Mathematics
Population
Population density, it is not all that it is plotted to be. Pupils analyze a scatter plot of population versus area for some of the states in the US. The class members respond to eight questions about the graph, specific points and...
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
Center of Population
Let the resource take center stage in a lesson on population density. Scholars use provided historical data on the center of the US population to see how it shifted over time. They plot the data on a spreadsheet to look the speed of its...