Teach Engineering
Maximum Power Point
Investigate the maximum power output of a photovoltaic panel with a instructional activity that introduces the class to the maximum power point. Individuals learn how to determine the maximum power point of a solar panel by using Ohm's...
College Board
2009 AP® Calculus AB Free-Response Questions
What was one of the big takeaways from 2009? By reviewing the released AP® Calculus free-response questions, pupils and teachers realize that performing mathematics is not all there is to doing well on the exam. Several items require...
Concord Consortium
Maximum Volumes
It's great to have a large swimming pool. An interesting performance task asks learners to optimize the volume of pools for a given surface area. They consider four different shapes for pools and find the maximum volume for each pool.
Texas Instruments
Minimums, Maximums and Zeroes
Young mathematicians will identify the minimum, maximum-and zeros of a function in this calculus lesson. They relate the derivative of a function to its zeros and minimum or maximum. They then graph their solutions and explain different...
Radford University
Rocket Quads
How high will it fly? Pairs build straw rockets and launch them at different angles and determine the height and horizontal distance of the flight path. Teams make conjectures about how the angle affects the measured distances and use...
101 Questions
Leap the Jeep
Will harm come to the child in the video? Find out by modeling the scenario mathematically! Learners represent the situation with a quadratic model before deciding on a maximum height and time the person is in the air. Too low or not...
College Board
2010 AP® Calculus BC Free-Response Questions Form B
Keep moving along a curve. Two items in the set of released free-response questions from the 2010 AP® Calculus BC exam involve movement along a graph. One involves particle motion along a polar curve while the other uses a squirrel...
Flipped Math
Calculus AB/BC Mid-Unit 6 Review: Integration and Accumulation of Change
Accumulate the content so far. Learners review the content from the first five lessons dealing with accumulation functions. The eight problems go over finding maximums, minimums, concavity, points of inflection, and intervals of increase...
Flipped Math
Unit 2 Review: Polynomial Functions
Wrap it all up in a box. Pupils review the key concepts from an Algebra 2 polynomial functions unit by working 19 problems. Problems range from using the Remainder Theorem to find remainders and finding factors; sketching graphs by...
Teach Engineering
Pointing at Maximum Power for PV
Following detailed directions, teams collect the voltage and current outputs of a photovoltaic cell by adjusting the resistance. Using the collected data, they determine the highest power output. Implications for weather and a large...
Curated OER
Bouncing Ball
Students collect height versus time data of a bouncing ball using the CBR 2™ data collection device. Using a quadratic equation they graph scatter plots, graph and interpret a quadratic function, apply the vertex form of a quadratic...
Radford University
How High Can You Throw?
Find heights by measuring time. Teams collect data to determine the height that a tennis ball is thrown. Classmates measure the height of the initial release of the ball and how long it stays aloft. Using a projectile motion equation,...
Radford University
Maximizing Light Through a Window
Let there be plenty of light. For a perimeter of 10 feet, scholars determine the maximum area of a window composed of a rectangle and a semicircle. They draw diagrams and then write and solve equations to find the height and radius for...
Radford University
Linear Programming: Sports Shoes
Don't shoo away the resource on shoes. Given constraints on the amount of leather and string needed to make two different types of shoes, learners graph a system of inequalities for the situation. They then determine the maximum profit...
Flipped Math
Unit 8 Review: Functions
Let's finish a functional review. Pupils work through 31 items to review the concepts learned in Unit 8. Scholars determine whether a mapping is a function and identify the domain and range. Using function notation, individuals then...
Curated OER
Maximum, Minimum, Increasing, Decreasing
Learners practice with the StudyCard set on assessing real-world contexts dealing with the concepts of maximum, minimum, increasing and decreasing. They view a variety of quadratic functions and equations with their TI-83 Plus calculators.
Inside Mathematics
Archery
Put the better archer in a box. The performance task has pupils compare the performance of two archers using box-and-whisker plots. The resource includes sample responses that are useful in comparing individuals' work to others.
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 11
Class members take center stage as groups perform scenes from Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope. Actors are encouraged to add stage directions to the script, as well as create costumes and props to...
Radford University
“FUN-ctions” Find the Equation of a Scream
Take a function along for a ride. Given the graph of a roller coaster track, pupils determine key features of the graph such as the maximum, minimum, intervals of increase and decrease, and roots. They figure out the equation of the...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #11 - Power Maximum: An Electrical Determination
Collaborative groups connect resistors and solar panels in series and measure electrical resistance, voltage, and current. The objective is to order 16 solar panels from strongest to weakest. They graph current-voltage and power curves...
NASA
Communications and the Lunar Outpost
Can you hear me now? Groups use given information about communication on the moon to determine the maximum distance an astronaut can travel and stay in communication. Using the calculations, they determine what lunar features they can...
Teach Engineering
Maximum Mentos Fountain
A messy fountain is potentially an energy experiment in disguise. Groups investigate the variables in creating a fountain from soda and Mentos. The last activity in a six-part series on energy has the class observe the fountain in terms...
101 Questions
Small Trebuchet
Travel back to medieval time where learning is just a stone's throw away! A video introduction shows a trebuchet (catapult-like machine) as it launches a rock into a lake. Learners use their quadratic modeling skills to predict the...
Purdue University
Rolling with Roller Coasters
Sometimes science is all fun and games! A hands-on STEM lesson asks learners to design and create models of roller coasters. They analyze the motion using a marble and describe the areas of maximum kinetic and potential energy.