Wake Forest University
Authentic Activities for Connecting Mathematics to the Real World
Check out the handout from a presentation that contains a collection of high school algebra projects connecting a variety of mathematics to the real world. Activities range from simple probabilities to calculus. The activities...
Baylor College
Living Things and Their Needs: The Math Link
Enrich your study of living things with these cross-curricular math activities. Following along with the story Tillena Lou's Day in the Sun, learners will practice addition and subtraction, learn how to measure volume and length,...
Math Solutions
Dr. Seuss Comes to Middle School Math Class
If you think Dr. Seuss has no place in a math classroom, then take a look at this resource. Based on the classic children's book Green Eggs and Ham, this sequence of activities engages children learning to model real-world contexts...
Curated OER
Task: Grain Storage
Farming is full of mathematics, and it provides numerous real-world examples for young mathematicians to study. Here, we look at a cylinder-shaped storage silo that has one flat side. Given certain dimensions, students need to determine...
Curated OER
Task: Range of Motion
If you have ever injured your shoulder, you know it takes a while to improve your arm's range of motion. In this real-world example, young mathematicians gain insight into the world of physical therapy while they analyze a case study...
Curated OER
7.RP Music Companies, Variation 2
Real-world multiple-step proportion problems are sometimes hard to find for your math class. Here is one designed specifically to meet that need. Learners use proportional relationships to determine price per share in the acquisition of...
Illustrative Mathematics
Bank Shot
Young geometers become pool sharks in this analysis of the angles and lengths of a trick shot. By using angles of incidence and reflection to develop similar triangles, learners plan the exact placement of balls to make the shot....
Illustrative Mathematics
Christo’s Building
Hook your charges on how to solve a real-world art problem with mathematics by showing works of Christo. You can find eye-catching images on the Christo and Jeanne Claude webpage. Here, math learners help Jean Claude and Christo prepare...
Illustrative Mathematics
Voting for Three, Variation 2
Here is another opportunity for math learners to apply reasoning to solve real-world problems with ratios. The ratio of the number of votes for two candidates is provided. Your class is asked to use this ratio and information given about...
Illustrative Mathematics
Voting for Three, Variation 1
This is an opportunity for young mathematicians to apply reasoning to solve real-world problems with ratios. Even though there are three candidates for class president, young scholars will only consider two at a time, making the first...
Curated OER
Percents: What's the Use?
Young scholars explore percentages in real world situations. In this percents lesson, students determine the final sales price after discounts. Young scholars interview community members and determine how percentages are used in the real...
Illustrative Mathematics
Painting a Room
This real-life math problem concentrates on developing the understanding of dividing a unit fraction by a whole number. It allows students to draw out a solution to aid their thinking. The well-written answer sheet describes common...
Curated OER
Stock Swaps, Variation 2
If Microsoft wanted to take over Apple, how many shares would they need to break even? This is an ideal task for seventh graders who are studying proportional relationships and applying them to real-world scenarios. Use it as an...
5280 Math
Go with the Flow
Round and round they go ... where they stop, only scholars will know. By writing systems of equations, classes determine the number of cars a roundabout can handle given specific constraints. Systems use up to six variables and become...
Teach Engineering
Solving Energy Problems
Here's your chance to save the world. The eighth lesson in a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit has young scientists come up with ideas for individual or group projects. They identify ways to solve the energy crisis. Hope they...
Illustrative Mathematics
Setting Goals
Setting financial goals is a common occurrence in middle school that your learners can practice using this activity. They will be able to solve for how many hours Seth needs to work to save up for a skateboard, helmet, and trip. The...
5280 Math
Interesting Times
Gain a little interest in functions with a real-life task. Young scholars analyze home loan data with a geometric sequence and series. They use the models to make predictions about the total loan payments at certain intervals in a...
Curated OER
Selling Fuel Oil at a Loss
Learners are asked to advise a fuel oil dealer on a possible investment. They must use two different rates to set up an equation and solve to determine how much oil he should sell now to break even after selling the remainder the next...
Curated OER
Mt. Whitney to Death Valley
This is an intriguing problem that brings together real-world data, technology, and mathematical problem solving. If visibility wasn't an issue, could you see from the highest point in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney, to the lowest...
Illustrative Mathematics
Chocolate Bar Sales
In this real-world example, algebra learners start to get a sense of how to represent the relationship between two variables in different ways. They start by looking at a partial table of values that define a linear relationship. They...
Curated OER
Bacteria Populations
Your young microbiologists will interpret and solve exponential equations in this real-world context task set in a hospital research scenario. Learners think in terms of the functions as well as their rates of change.
Curated OER
Stock Swaps, Variation 3
More on the fictitious takeover of the Apple Corporation by Microsoft. In this scenario, Microsoft has $28.00 per share to spare, so how many do they need to offer to make an even trade? This is an engaging problem to solve when...
Curated OER
Math Challenges
Students participate in a series of challenging math lessons designed to engage their critical thinking skills. In these real-world problem solving lessons, student solve symmetry and repeated pattern problems, make lists/tables to...
Illustrative Mathematics
Busy Day
This activity gets at the heart of algebraic reasoning and setting up equations with one variable to solve real-world problems. The worksheet has only one problem, but it requires that learners first use their own reasoning...