Howard County Schools
Exponential Decay Exploration
How can you model exponential decay? Explore different situations involving exponential decay functions and decreasing linear functions by performing activities with MandM candy, popcorn kernels, and number cubes.
Curated OER
Exponential Decay
Students study exponential decay and its application to radiocarbon dating. In this exponential decay lesson, students use candy to model the time it takes for something to decay. Students also graph the data they collect and...
Curated OER
Exploring Exponential Growth and Decay Functions
Learners differentiate between exponential growth and decay. In this algebra instructional activity, students solve exponential equations using properties of exponents. They use the Ti calculator to graph and analyze their...
Illustrative Mathematics
Accuracy of Carbon 14 Dating II
The scientific issue of carbon-14 dating and exponential decay gets a statistics-based treatment in this problem. The class starts with a basic investigation of carbon content, but then branches out to questions of accuracy and...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Writing Exponential Functions Based on Data
Give your class a concrete example of exponential growth and decay using this hands-on activity. These Algebra II lessons allow for the exploration of exponential growth and decay models, as well as the discovery of the patterns of...
Curated OER
Exponential Functions
Analyze functions by their shape and equation and identify decay and growth based on the equation given. Learners graph their exponential functions and differentiate it using the logarithmic versus the exponential function.
EngageNY
Geometric Sequences and Exponential Growth and Decay
Connect geometric sequences to exponential functions. The 26th installment of a 35-part module has scholars model situations using geometric sequences. Writing recursive and explicit formulas allow scholars to solve problems in context.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Debt and Wars
Take a functional approach to the national debt. Learners collect information about the national debt by decade and plot the data. They determine whether an exponential curve is a good fit for the data by comparing the percent changes...
Kenan Fellows
Half-Life
Scholars shake their way to understanding half-life with the help of candy. They observe and record which side candy lands on to graph the exponential decay in the fifth instructional activity of seven integrating chemistry and algebra....
Virginia Department of Education
Exponential Modeling
Investigate exponential growth and decay. A set of six activities has pupils collecting and researching data in a variety of situations involving exponential relationships. They model these situations with exponential functions and solve...
Curated OER
What Functions do Two Graph Points Determine?
Your algebra learners write linear, exponential, and quadratic equations containing the same two graph points in this collaborative task.
Curated OER
Exploring the Exponential Function
Learners collect and analyze data regarding exponential functions of the form y = abx. Students explore the affects of changing parameters on the graph of the function.
EngageNY
Modeling with Exponential Functions
These aren't models made of clay. Young mathematicians model given population data using exponential functions. They consider different models and choose the best one.
Curated OER
NUMB3RS Activity: A Matter of Half-Life and Death
Students investigate exponential decay. Students explore the biological half-life of Cesium-137. Students investigate the Goiania Accident of 1987 which is considered one of the worst incidents in the history of the Atomic...
Curated OER
Exponential Functions f(x) = abx
Students define exponential functions and graph the equation. In this algebra lesson, students discuss exponential growth and decay as they graph their functions. They differentiate between the base of growth and decay.
Curated OER
Making Money and Spreading the Flu!
Paper folding, flu spreading in a school, bacteria growth, and continuously compounded interest all provide excellent models to study exponential functions. This is a comprehensive resource that looks at many different aspects of...
Curated OER
Murder in the First Degree - The Death of Mr. Spud
Secondary learners investigate exponential functions in a real-world scenario. They collect data on the temperature of a cooling baked potato, enter the data into lists, and graph the data using a scatter plot before finding an...
Curated OER
Chill Out: How Hot Objects Cool
Teach how to explore exponential equations. In this Algebra II instructional activity, learners investigate the graph that occurs as a hot liquid cools. Students model the data algebraically.
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
Nuclear Popcorn
Make your lesson on radioactive decay pop with this lab exercise. Using popcorn kernels spread over a tabletop, participants pick up all of those that point toward the back of the room, that is, those that represent decayed atoms. As the...
Curated OER
An Introduction to Functions
Students investigate the growth and decay of an exponential function. In this algebra lesson, students apply properties of exponent solve problems. They identify any patterns they see in the graphs.
Curated OER
Carbon 14 Dating, Variation 2
Your archaeologists begin this task with a table of values to estimate the time passed based on the half-life of Carbon 14 remaining in a plant. They then move on to find when a specific amount of Carbon 14 is present in the same plant,...
Curated OER
Basketball Rebounds
Your young basketball players will build a table and develop a general formula for a decaying exponential scenario involving the rebound distance of a bouncing ball. Using a CBR and graphing calculator can make this even more hands-on...
Discovery Education
Submarines and Aircraft Carriers: The Science of Nuclear Power
As physics masters view this presentation, they learn how nuclear power is used in submarines. They use Google Maps to plot a course through the ocean and calculate the time required for surfacing and traveling. They learn about fission,...
EngageNY
Integer Exponents
Fold, fold, and fold some more. In the first installment of a 35-part module, young mathematicians fold a piece of paper in half until it can not be folded any more. They use the results of this activity to develop functions for the area...