Previously in this video series, students used simple quadratic functions to describe how an object falls over time given the effect of gravity. In this video lesson, they build on that understanding and construct quadratic functions to represent projectile motions. Along the way, they learn about the zeros of a function and the vertex of a graph. They also begin to consider appropriate domains for a function given the situation it represents.
Students use a linear model to describe the height of an object that is launched directly upward at a constant speed. Because of the influence of gravity, however, the object will not continue to travel at a constant rate (eventually it will stop going higher and will start falling), so the model will have to be adjusted (MP4). They notice that this phenomenon can be represented with a quadratic function and that adding a squared term to the linear term seems to “bend” the graph and change its direction.
Learn about the math behind predator-prey population cycles in this video from NOVA Digital. In this example, zombie and human populations fluctuate. The zombie population increases as zombies convert humans into zombies. However, without enough humans to eat, zombies die and the population shrinks. The human population increases as humans reproduce but decreases as zombies eat humans. The populations of humans and zombies change through time according to a pair of differential equations. Because human and zombie populations are related, the growth rate of each population depends on the current numbers of both humans and zombies.
In Module 3, Topic B, students connect their understanding of functions to their knowledge of graphing from Grade 8. They learn the formal definition of a function and how to recognize, evaluate, and interpret functions in abstract and contextual situations (F-IF.A.1, F-IF.A.2). Students examine the graphs of a variety of functions and learn to interpret those graphs using precise terminology to describe such key features as domain and range, intercepts, intervals where the function is increasing or decreasing, and intervals where the function is positive or negative. (F-IF.A.1, F-IF.B.4, F-IF.B.5, F-IF.C.7a).
In Module 3, Topic D, students apply and reinforce the concepts of the module as they examine and compare exponential, piecewise, and step functions in a real-world context (F-IF.C.9). They create equations and functions to model situations (A-CED.A.1, F-BF.A.1, F-LE.A.2), rewrite exponential expressions to reveal and relate elements of an expression to the context of the problem (A-SSE.B.3c, F-LE.B.5), and examine the key features of graphs of functions, relating those features to the context of the problem (F-IF.B.4, F-IF.B.6).
Module 5, Topic A focuses on the skills inherent in the modeling process: representing graphs, data sets, or verbal descriptions using explicit expressions (F-BF.A.1a) when presented in graphic form in Lesson 1, as data in Lesson 2, or as a verbal description of a contextual situation in Lesson 3. They recognize the function type associated with the problem (F-LE.A.1b, F-LE.A.1c) and match to or create 1- and 2-variable equations (A-CED.A.1, A-CED.2) to model a context presented graphically, as a data set, or as a description (F-LE.A.2). Function types include linear, quadratic, exponential, square root, cube root, absolute value, and other piecewise functions. Students interpret features of a graph in order to write an equation that can be used to model it and the function (F-IF.B.4, F-BF.A.1) and relate the domain to both representations (F-IF.B.5). This topic focuses on the skills needed to complete the modeling cycle and sometimes uses purely mathematical models, sometimes real-world contexts.