Discipline: Mathematics

Professional Commentary: This lesson provides students with the description of an authentic situation (buying DVDs) and data points that fit that situation. Students graph the line that contains those points; determine its y-intercept, slope, and equation; and interpret the slope and y-intercept in the context of the problem....

Discipline: Mathematics

Professional Commentary: This lesson helps students who are not already familiar with the slope-intercept form of a linear function, y = mx + b, to analyze how the values of m and b correspond to changes in y as x systematically increases. This analysis helps students identify linear function rules involving two operations....

Discipline: Mathematics

Professional Commentary: How does the amount of weight that can be supported by a spaghetti bridge relate to the width (number of spaghetti strands) and the length of a bridge? Students gather data comparing the amount of weight that can be supported, the number of strands of spaghetti used, and the length of the bridge....

Discipline: Mathematics

Professional Commentary: Several real-world situations motivate the study of linear functions, their parameters, and behaviors. The contextual situations lead to the abstraction of function and provide tools for understanding and long-term memory....

Discipline: Mathematics

Professional Commentary: This site presents a series of explorations using linked graphical and symbolic representations of linear functions. Students investigate the effect that changing the slope (m) has on the graph of a line....