Howard County Schools
Discounting Tickets
A boss who can't do math? Oh, no! Young entrepreneurs use linear and exponential models to determine which discount will yield the most profit on ticket sales.
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
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...
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...
Illustrative Mathematics
The Djinni’s Offer
The djinni in this resource offers gold coins. Learners use the properties of exponents to make their decision as one offer increases exponentially. This makes a great group project. As the commentary suggests, start by having groups...
PBL Pathways
Doctors and Nurses
How many nurses does it take to support one doctor? A project-based activity asks learners to analyze state data to answer this question. Classes create polynomial functions from the data of doctors and nurses over a seven-year...
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....
Howard County Schools
Planning for Prom
Make the most of your prom—with math! Pupils write and use a quadratic model to determine the optimal price of prom tickets. After determining the costs associated with the event, learners use a graph to analyze the break even point(s).
Other
Labs and Projects: Applications of Exponential and Logarithmic Function
This site has several examples of exponential functions. There is also some background and theory information.
University of Georgia
University of Georgia: One Grain of Rice Mathematical Project
This is the mathematical tale about Raja, one grain of rice, and how quickly it grows. It includes a mathematical project using a spreadsheet to examine exponential growth and a calculus-based extension that explores area under a curve.