Provide students an opportunity to read scientific literature, express understanding of scientific content and write a summary of the written work.

The purpose of this task is to give students practice interpreting statements using function notation. It can be used as a diagnostic if students seem to be having trouble with function notation, for example interpreting f(x) as the product of f and x.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module/Geology of National Parks course. Students use foundational math to study the velocity of the North American Plate over the hot spot, the volume of eruptive materials from it, and the recurrence interval of the cataclysmic eruptions.

Students learn about archives and primary sources as they research original historical documents. While preparing an imaginative first-person account as if witnessing an historical event, they learn to appreciate the value of the first-person, eye-witness account and understand its limitations. Note: The literacy activities for the Mechanics unit are based on physical themes that have broad application to our experience in the world — concepts of rhythm, balance, spin, gravity, levity, inertia, momentum, friction, stress and tension.

This activity involves students in recording their energy usage of particular appliances and devices over a certain period of time. They then take the time and device and determine the kilowatts of electricity used via an internet website. They then can take this value and calculate the amount of fuel that would have to be burned to generate this same amount of electricity. This activity is done for multiple appliances and situations and it is investigated how much fuel/coal is needed to kepp the light on all day every day, or the computer that is never in sleep mode.

This is a simple task touching on two key points of functions. First, there is the idea that not all functions have real numbers as domain and range values. Second, the task addresses the issue of when a function admits an inverse, and the process of "restricting the domain" in order to achieve an invertible function.

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate Newton's 3rd Law of Motion, which is the physical law that governs thrust in aircraft. The students will do several activities that show that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

To explore different ways of using solar energy, students build a model solar water heater and determine how much it can heat water in a given amount of time. Solar water heaters work by solar radiation and convection.

Student teams learn about and devise technical presentations on four reproductive technology topics pregnancy ultrasound, amniocentesis, in-vitro fertilization or labor anesthetics. Each team acts as a panel of engineers asked to make a presentation to a group of students unfamiliar with the reproductive technology. Each group incorporates non-lecture elements into its presentation for greater effectiveness. As students learn about the technologies, by creating a presentation and listening to other groups' presentations, they also learn more about the valuable skill of technical communications.

Students learn about trigonometry, geometry and measurements while participating in a hands-on interaction with LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT technology. First they review fundamental geometrical and trigonometric concepts. Then, they estimate the height of various objects by using simple trigonometry. Students measure the height of the objects using the LEGO robot kit, giving them an opportunity to see how sensors and technology can be used to measure things on a larger scale. Students discover that they can use this method to estimate the height of buildings, trees or other tall objects. Finally, students synthesize their knowledge by applying it to solve similar problems. By activity end, students have a better grasp of trigonometry and its everyday applications.

This task looks at zeroes and factorization of a general polynomial. It is related to a very deep theorem in mathematics, the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, which says that a polynomial of degree d always has exactly d roots, provided complex numbers are allowed as roots and provided roots are counted with the proper "multiplicity.''

The intention of this task is to provide extra depth to the standard A-APR.2 it is principally designed for instructional purposes only. The students may use graphing technology: the focus, however, should be on what happens to the function g when x=0 and the calculator may or may not be of help here (depending on how sophisticated it is!).

For a polynomial function p, a real number r is a root of p if and only if p(x) is evenly divisible by x_r. This fact leads to one of the important properties of polynomial functions: a polynomial of degree d can have at most d roots. This is the first of a sequence of problems aiming at showing this fact.

This task continues ``Zeroes and factorization of a quadratic polynomial I.'' The argument here generalizes, as shown in ``Zeroes and factorization of a general polynomial'' to show that a polynomial of degree d can have at most d roots. This task is intended for instructional purposes to help students see more clearly the link between factorization of polynomials and zeroes of polynomial functions.

Students experience the engineering design process as they design and construct lower-leg prostheses in response to a hypothetical zombie apocalypse scenario. Like the well-known Apollo 13 story during which engineers were challenged to fix the crippled spacecraft with limited supplies in order to save astronauts' lives, in this activity, students act as engineers during an imaginary disaster in which a group member's leg was amputated in order to survive a zombie attack. Building on what they learned and researched in the associated lesson, they design and fabricate a replacement prosthetic limb using given specific starting material and limited additional supplies, similar to how engineers design for individuals while working within constraints. A more-advanced scenario challenges students to design a prosthesis that is able to provide a more-specific movement function.

Test the pH of things like coffee, spit, and soap to determine whether each is acidic, basic, or neutral. Visualize the relative number of hydroxide ions and hydronium ions in solution. Switch between logarithmic and linear scales. Investigate whether changing the volume or diluting with water affects the pH. Or you can design your own liquid!

In this activity, learners use basic measurements of the Earth and pieces of rock and iron to estimate the mass of the Earth. Learners will calculate mass, volume, and density, convert units, and employ the water displacement method. To calculate an even more accurate estimate of the mass of the Earth, this resource includes optional instructions on how to measure the iron core mass.

After predicting what the unemployment rate will be for students in the class, a confidential survey modeled on the Current Population Survey questions is used to gather data about each student's employment. Students use this data to measure the class unemployment rate and then assess its accuracy.