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Worksheet
Curated OER

Get a Half Life!: Student Worksheet

For Students 6th - 8th
Upper elementary or middle schoolers will explore non-linear functions, graphing, and the curve of best fit through real-life data collection and trial analysis. They explore the concept of half-life and radioactive decay using M&Ms,...
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Lesson Plan
Kenan Fellows

Half-Life

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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 lesson of seven integrating chemistry and algebra. Combining...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Math in Science-Radioactive Decay and Half-Life

For Students 9th - 11th
In this radioactive decay and half-life worksheet, students use given half-lifes to calculate the amount of time it will take for certain amounts of elements to decay. They also find the age of samples and determine how many grams of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get a Half-life!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore decay functions and the half-life of a substance. Through an M&M activity with calculators, students collect and graph data. They determine the linear, quadratic and exponential functions of the graph. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get a Half Life!

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders use M&M's to experiment with data. They use a graphing calculator to determine the best equation for their data; linear, quadratic or exponential. They analyze the data to find the half-life of their M&M's.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get a Half-Life!: Student Worksheet

For Teachers 6th - 7th
In this math/science worksheet, young scholars will work in pairs to conduct an experiment based on a decay function which is often used to model radioactive decay. Students will shake M & M's in a cup to rub off the M and then...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

NUMB3RS Activity: A Matter of Half-Life and Death

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
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 Age. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Carbon 14 Dating, Variation 2

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Radiation Reassessed

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students investigate the dangers of radiation by exploring recent nuclear tragedies.  In this scientific debate lesson plan, students define the idea of radiation "half life" and determine if low doses of radiation are truly damaging to...
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Activity
PBL Pathways

Potassium-Argon Dating

For Students 10th - Higher Ed Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get a Half-life!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use m&m candies as their sample set. They begin by counting the total number of candies to determine their sample size. Students put the candies into a cup and shake them gently before pouring them onto a paper plate. Count...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Six Exponential Decay Problems

For Students 10th - 11th
In this exponential model worksheet, students solve six exponential decay multiple choice questions and one free-response half life question.  The solutions are provided..
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Activity
101 Questions

Pool Bounce

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Use geometry to improve your pool game! Learners analyze the front half of a pool shot to determine its resulting path. By measuring the angle of incidence, they are able to predict the path of the ball. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exponential Functions: Half Life and Doubling Time

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Pupils investigate the concept of exponential functions and how they increase in size over time. They simplify the functions in order to find the solutions that are possible and perform analysis of the curved line that is produced when...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Interpret Clock Time

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Save yourself a few minutes of planning with this elementary math lesson plan on elapsed time. Through a series of collaborative and independent learning activities, children explore different real-world situations as they learn how to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fractions in Everyday Life

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students apply understanding of fractions by converting a recipe to feed the class and the whole grade level. They calculate how many cookies the class would eat and multiply each fraction in the recipe accordingly.
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Handout
Charleston School District

Estimating Values of Expressions

For Students 8th Standards
You can't evaluate an irrational root expression without a calculator—or can you? Scholars estimate the value of roots within an expression to approximate the value of the expression. Expressions include a mix of square roots and whole...
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Activity
Illustrative Mathematics

Use Cavalieri’s Principle to Compare Aquarium Volumes

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Learners are designing a stunning new water feature for an aquarium, but they soon discover that more than just a pretty home for their fishy friends is required.  From calculating the volume of a composite shape through the abstract...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chernobyl 1 - Radiation Released

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the Chernobyl nuclear disaster by mapping out the winds carrying radiation and viewing a short video about the aftermath and subsequent health problems. They then calculate the amount of radiation that people were...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Families of Parallel Lines and the Circumference of the Earth

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
How do you fit a tape measure around the Earth? No need if you know a little geometry! Pupils begin by extending their understanding of the Side Splitter Theorem to a transversal cut by parallel lines. Once they identify the proportional...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Industrialization, Chemicals and Human Health - Math

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers review the units of the metric system, and practice estimating measures before actually converting between the two systems of measurement. They participate in activities to visualize a concentration of one part per...
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Lesson Plan
PwC Financial Literacy

Saving and Investing: Investing for the Future

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A fine lesson on saving and investing is here for you and your middle schoolers. In it, learners explore the values of time and money, and discover how small amounts of money invested over time can grow into a large "pot of gold." They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Much Does it Cost to Light Your School?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners compute the cost of electricity used to light their classroom and their school for various lengths of time. They compute the amount of coal needed to produce the electricity used for one hour of light in their classroom. An...
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Assessment
Noyce Foundation

Mixing Paints

For Teachers 6th - 7th Standards
Let's paint the town equal parts yellow and violet, or simply brown. Pupils calculate the amount of blue and red paint needed to make six quarts of brown paint. Individuals then explain how they determined the percentage of the brown...