Illustrative Mathematics
How Thick Is a Soda Can I?
The humble soda can gets the geometric treatment in an activity that links math and science calculations. After a few basic assumptions are made and discussed, surface area calculations combine with density information to develop an...
101 Questions
File Cabinet
Take the resource out of the file cabinet. Young mathematicians estimate the number of sticky notes it would take to cover the surface area of a file cabinet. They answer a set of questions on how the number of sticky notes would change...
101 Questions
Pool Capacity
Here's hoping that we can all fit into the pool. Given pictures and dimensions of a pool in tile lengths, scholars decide how many people can fit into the pool. This requires consideration of area, as well as the application of some...
Illustrative Mathematics
How Many Leaves on a Tree? (Version 2)
A second attack at figuring out the number of leaves on a tree, this activity makes both an excellent follow-up to version 1 and a stand-alone activity. Learners practice setting parameters and deciding acceptable estimate precision, and...
101 Questions
The Ticket Roll
This is your ticket to understanding estimation. Scholars estimate the number of tickets on a ticket roll. To perform the task, they use pictures and given dimensions of a ticket roll and of a single ticket and apply concepts of area and...
Teach Engineering
About Accuracy and Approximation
How accurate are robots? Groups draw lines by moving robots backwards and forwards by one rotation of the wheels. Using the appropriate formula, they determine the percent error in the length of the lines in relation to the calculated...
Illustrative Mathematics
Paper Clip
With minimal setup and maximum freedom, young geometers are encouraged to think outside the box on a seemingly simple application problem. Though the task seems simple, measuring a given paper clip and finding how many 10 meters can...
Illustrative Mathematics
Placing a Square Root on the Number Line
There are many ways to approach finding the rational approximation of an unknown square root. Here is a problem that will help math learners make a connection between square roots and their order on a number line. As usual, determine two...
Illustrative Mathematics
SAT Scores
If you earned a score of 610 on the math portion of the SAT, what would be your percentile ranking? Given the mean and standard deviation of normally distributed data, find the probability of getting a particular score, or that your...
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...
101 Questions
Pyramid of Pennies
Go big or go home! Learners watch a video rendition of the creation of a penny pyramid. Their task is to determine the number of pennies in the pyramid. The lesson encourages multiple methods, including function building or volume formulas.
Teach Engineering
Cost Comparisons
Our final proposal for the cost of the bridge requested is ... In the last segment in a series of 10, pairs work together to develop a proposal for a city bridge design. The class completes a cost comparison between concrete and steel to...
Illustrative Mathematics
How Much is a Penny Worth?
Are pennies really worth one cent? Here, learners use rates to calculate the price per pound of copper that would result in pennies that are exactly one cent's worth of copper. Might work best as a group or whole-class activity since the...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Nctm: Figure This: Math Challenges for Families
Students, teachers, and parents alike will enjoy this challenging math site. It contains a clever brain teaser section plus creative problems related to algebra, geometry, measurement, numbers, statistics, and probability. A Spanish...
Other
Mr. Pitonyak's Pyramid Puzzle
Students estimate the cost of building an Egyptian pyramid with modern materials and ancient building methods in this math project.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Nctm: Figure This: Chocolate (Pdf)
Here's a delicious math challenge for chocolate lovers! Use your estimation and measurement skills to discover which irregular shaped, chocolate covered cookie has the largest surface area. A one-page activity from the NCTM Math...