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Deflategate
The deflated ball controversy makes an interesting segue into negative number line understanding. A particular digital psi football gauge reads 0 when the ball is at a proper NFL inflation of 13 psi....
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The longest day, summer solstice
Sunrise on summer solstice at Stonehenge On June 21st, early Friday morning, at 1:04 am EST, the Earth's North Pole will be tilted as far towards the Sun as it will ever be in the year. This marks...
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Done with the leaves … now for the snow
Brian has spent too much time analyzing his leaf raking. He has created an investigation that asks students to calculate how long it would take different numbers of rakers to finish cleaning his yard...
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Cell phone plans
Its time to go get the latest iPhone. Which of the above plans will you choose? Should you sign a 2-year contract on one of the above plans to get the iPhone for $200? Or should you go through...
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Souvenirs and concessions
Brian has introduced systems of equations with easy, motivating problems that deal with the cost of stadium purchases for food or souvenirs. These systems of equations puzzles are so intuitive that...
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The longest day
Sunrise on summer solstice at Stonehenge On Sunday, June 21st, at 12:39 pm EST, the Earth's North Pole will be tilted as far towards the Sun as it will ever be in the year. This marks the longest day...
View ArticleWhy Does it Stay in Orbit?
On Monday, the space shuttle Endeavor launched for the last time. The six astronauts on board docked this morning at the International Space Station to join the 6 astronauts and cosmonauts who live at...
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Parabolic Pee
Mr. Mark's new little baby can make some amazingly tall streams. Give your class a little chuckle as you introduce them to parabolic motion with this very short analysis of Mr. Mark's baby's talent....
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Figuring planting dates
It's time to get ready to plant my garden again. But here in Boston we have to start our seeds indoors to give them a head start before we can put plants outside. How should I figure out when to...
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DVR Dilemma
How many hours of HD video can my DVR strore? How about SD video? I love my DVR. I can record my shows and movies and watch them whenever I want. I know that when I record HD programs my DVR fills up...
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Who had the greatest NBA season ever?
Some of the greats; Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson Another NBA regular season has wrapped up. Lebron James, James Harden Steph Curry & Russell Westbrook had terrific years with great...
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Throwing up again
Anchorage, Alaska has received more than 100 inches of snow this winter. The height of the tunnel to people's homes is getting higher and higher. When they shovel an area, they have to throw the snow...
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My teacher says this stream is parabolic. Is he correct?
Instead of asking students to just believe what you've said, why not ask them to verify your assertions? Students plot the points of the stream, perhaps map them with an equation generated by Excel...
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Doubling your money
My friend and I were arguing about how long it would take me to double my investment amounts. How will your students figure this out? Are there any tricks? Explore investing and exponential growth...
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Fantasy Football
In the midst of another NFL season, we introduce students to Fantasy Football. Students first calculate football points given touchdowns, yardage gains and interceptions. They are then challenged to...
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How much can my DVR record?
How many hours of HD video can my DVR strore? How about SD video? I love my DVR. I can record my shows and movies and watch them whenever I want. I know that when I record HD programs my DVR fills up...
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How much have doughnuts changed?
Part of the Smithsonian's Sally L. Steinberg Collection of Doughnut Ephemera -- Click on the image to see it larger. When you are working on volume in your class, you can use this activity for...
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Figuring planting dates
It's time to get ready to plant my garden again. But here in Boston we have to start our seeds indoors to give them a head start before we can put plants outside. How should I figure out when to...
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Done with the leaves … now for the snow
Brian has spent too much time analyzing his leaf raking. He has created an investigation that asks students to calculate how long it would take different numbers of rakers to finish cleaning his yard...
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Free Flights?
Clicking on this image will show it larger on a new page. This can't be right! If my flight cost $200 and I stayed for 10 days it would be free. Right? You can kick off this activity by asking...
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