The purpose of this task is to provide students with a situation in which it is natural for them to divide a unit fraction by a non-zero whole number.
Vision is the primary sense of many animals and much is known about how vision is processed in the mammalian nervous system. One distinct property of the primary visual cortex is a highly organized pattern of sensitivity to location and orientation of objects in the visual field. But how did we learn this? An important tool is the ability to design experiments to map out the structure and response of a system such as vision. In this activity, students learn about the visual system and then conduct a model experiment to map the visual field response of a Panoptes robot. (In Greek mythology, Argus Panoptes was the "all-seeing" watchman giant with 100 eyes.) A simple activity modification enables a true black box experiment, in which students do not directly observe how the visual system is configured, and must match the input to the output in order to reconstruct the unseen system inside the box.
This high level task is an example of applying geometric methods to solve design problems and satisfy physical constraints. This task is accessible to all students. In this task, a typographic grid system serves as the background for a standard paper clip.
Using paper, paper clips and tape, student teams design flying/falling devices to stay in the air as long as possible and land as close as possible to a given target. Student teams use the steps of the engineering design process to guide them through the initial conception, evaluation, testing and re-design stages. The activity culminates with a classroom competition and scoring to evaluate how each team's design performed.
This task assumes students have an understanding of the relationship between functions and equations. Using this knowledge, the students are prompted to try to solve equations in order to find the inverse of a function given in equation form: when no such solution is possible, this means that the function does not have an inverse.
The difference between an architect and an engineer is sometimes confusing because their roles in building design can be similar. Students experience a bit of both professions by following a set of requirements and meeting given constraints as they create a model parking garage. They experience the engineering design process first-hand as they design, build and test their models. They draw a blueprint for their design, select the construction materials and budget their expenditures. They also test their structures for strength and find their maximum loads.
The purpose of this task is to investigate the meaning of the definition of function in a real-world context where the question of whether there is more than one output for a given input arises naturally. In more advanced courses this task could be used to investigate the question of whether a function has an inverse.
The point of this task is to emphasize the grouping structure of the base-ten number system, and in particular the crucial fact that 10 tens make 1 hundred.
Students apply concepts of disease transmission to analyze infection data, either provided or created using Bluetooth-enabled Android devices. This data collection may include several cases, such as small static groups (representing historically rural areas), several roaming students (representing world-travelers), or one large, tightly knit group (representing urban populations). To explore the algorithms to a deeper degree, students may also design their own diseases using the App Inventor framework.
Students engage in an interactive "hot potato" demonstration to gain an appreciation for the flow of electrons through a circuit. Students role play the different parts of a simple circuit and send small items representing electrons (paper or candy pieces) through the circuit.
Students apply several methods developed to identify and interpret patterns to the identification of fingerprints. They look at their classmates' fingerprints, snowflakes, and "spectral fingerprints" of elements. They learn to identify each image as unique, yet part of a group containing recognizable similarities.
The goal of this task is to look for structure and identify patterns and then try to find the mathematical explanation for this. This problem examines the ''checkerboard'' pattern of even and odd numbers in a single digit multiplication table.
Uses primary
This simple conceptual task focuses on what it means for a number to be a solution to an equation, rather than on the process of solving equations.
In this activity, students will learn how water can be polluted by algal blooms. They will grow algae with different concentrations of fertilizer or nutrients and analyze their results as environmental engineers working to protect a local water resource.
This task provides a context where it is appropriate for students to subtract fractions with a common denominator; it could be used for either assessment or instructional purposes.
This task allows students to reason about the relative costs per pound of the two fruits without actually knowing what the costs are. Students who find this difficult may add a scale to the graph and reason about the meanings of the ordered pairs. Comparing the two approaches in a class discussion can be a profitable way to help students make sense of slope.
This word problem requires students to use addition and subtraction and think about money.
Students explore the concepts of center of mass and static equilibrium by seeing how non-symmetrical objects balance. Using a paper cut-out shape of a parrot sitting on a wire coat hanger, they learn that their parrot exists in stable equilibrium â it returns to its balancing point after being disturbed. The weight of its tail makes the parrot balance upright. Give the parrot a push, and she knocks off balance, but swings back and forth until coming to rest in balance again.
Students investigate how different riparian ground covers, such as grass or pavement, affect river flooding. They learn about permeable and impermeable materials through the measurement how much water is absorbed by several different household materials in a model river. Students use what they learn to make recommendations for engineers developing permeable pavement. Also, they consider several different limitations for design in the context of a small community.