Pre-Task: Functions and Everyday Situations

For this task, I am using the Functions and Everyday Situations task from Mathematics
Assessment Resource Service from the University of Nottingham and UC Berkeley. The original
task and instructions are included as an attachment (functions_&_situations_complete.pdf) They
can also be found here: http://map.mathshell.org/materials/download.php?fileid=1259
I have modified this task to include more functions and function types (quadratic and
trigonometric functions) and added a few conceptual questions to the task.
In essence students will work in groups to cut out the expressions, graphs, and context
situations/questions and pair them up appropriately. I would suggest monitoring and helping
students in this task by first having them pair context with graphs (which many can arrive at
visually or by using logic/reasoning skills). Students will then struggle with pairing the
expressions.
I generally suggest to students to pair of graphs that look alike (like they could be
transformations of each other). They are then asked to pair up functions that look like they have
similar features (functions that they recognize in linear format, functions that have

x2 ,

functions that contain an exponent of the input x, and a sine function). I have found that students
tend to recognize these patterns and arrive at them on their own with limited prodding and then
can easily pair up all of the items.
Students will then use the graphs and functions to answer the questions found on the
context cards. Students will be asked to past results on poster boards and explain their reasoning
of why they paired certain items together to the class in a presentation. The class should wrap
with defining what linear, exponential, quadratic, and trigonometric functions are. Students
should be able to describe the function shape and the defining features of the parent function for

each function type.

I actually used this as a monitoring pre-assessment activity for Unit 5 (Quadratic
functions) of my Analytic Geometry 10th grade class. I was happy to see that many students
could connect the idea of finding shapes, patterns, and expression formats. My pre-assessment
found that students had serious difficulty using graphs and expressions to answer contextual
questions. So they had not retained previous curriculum of function input/outputs (and
substitution) and using graphs to interpret word problems. Some students even struggled on
understanding a high level concept of transformations and interpreting values on the Cartesian
plane. This activity nicely showed me review items I would need to build into lesson (more
contextual based graphs/word problems, defining key features of parabolas in sentence format
using various contexts, and interpreting graph results) and pointed out students who would need
extra support/differentiation in this unit.
As you can see from the activity, the task requires students to monitor patterns in
expressions and graph shapes and use logical reasoning and previous curriculum to pair
functions with their appropriate graphs/context. Students must also use these graphs and
expressions to answer context-based questions. So this task covers both CCSS standards
(Understand the concept of a function and use function notation and Interpret functions that
arise in applications in terms of the context.) quite nicely. This would be a great activity to use
with 9th grade Coordinate Algebra students.
I have attached task manipulative that have been modified from the original activity
below.

A. Plumber
A plumber charges a fixed fee
for coming to your house, and
then charges a fixed amount
per hour on top of this.
x = the time the job takes in
hours. y = the total cost of the
plumbers time in dollars.

How much does the

plumber charge for a 3hour job?

B. Cycling
A cyclist travels along a direct
route from town A to town B.
x = the distance of the cyclist
from town A in miles.
y = the distance of the cyclist
from town B in miles.

How far apart are the

towns?

C. Movie subscription
You get two movies free, but
then you get charged at a fixed
rate per movie.
x = the number of movies
seen.
y = the total money spent in
dollars.

D. Internet caf
An internet caf charges a fixed
amount per minute to use the
internet.
x = the number of minutes
spent on the internet.
y = the cost of using the
internet in dollars.

What is the fixed rate per

movie?

How many minutes will $8

buy?

E. Cooling kettle
A kettle of boiling water cools in
a warm kitchen.
x = the time that has elapsed
in minutes.
y = the temperature of the
kettle in degrees Celsius.

F. Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel turns round and
round.
x = the time that has elapsed
in seconds.
y = the height of a seat from
the ground in meters.

What is the temperature

of the room?

How long does it take the

Ferris wheel to turn once?

y=5 x10

y=40 x +60

y=

3x
4

y=x+ 100

y=0.12 ( x7.8 ) + 11.8

y=30 x50 x 2

y=68+ 80 ( 0.7 )

y=0.5 ( x5 ) +10

y=57+ 55sin

y=

( x7 85 )

2x
1000