Students redesign and justify the packaging used in consumer products. Design criteria include reducing the amount of packaging material by 25%.

This is the first of two fraction division tasks that use similar contexts to highlight the difference between the ŇNumber of Groups UnknownÓ a.k.a. ŇHow many groups?Ó (Variation 1) and ŇGroup Size UnknownÓ a.k.a. ŇHow many in each group?Ó (Variation 2) division problems.

This is the second of two fraction division tasks that use similar contexts to highlight the difference between the ŇNumber of Groups UnknownÓ a.k.a. ŇHow many groups?Ó (Variation 1) and ŇGroup Size UnknownÓ a.k.a. ŇHow many in each group?Ó (Variation 2) division problems.

As a weighted plastic egg is dropped into a tub of flour, students see the effect that different heights and masses of the same object have on the overall energy of that object while observing a classic example of potential (stored) energy transferred to kinetic energy (motion). The plastic egg's mass is altered by adding pennies inside it. Because the egg's shape remains constant, and only the mass and height are varied, students can directly visualize how these factors influence the amounts of energy that the eggs carry for each experiment, verified by measurement of the resulting impact craters. Students learn the equations for kinetic and potential energy and then make predictions about the depths of the resulting craters for drops of different masses and heights. They collect and graph their data, comparing it to their predictions, and verifying the relationships described by the equations. This classroom demonstration is also suitable as a small group activity.

The purpose of this instructional task is to motivate a discussion about adding fractions and the meaning of the common denominator. The different parts of the task have students moving back and forth between the abstract representation of the fractions and the meaning of the fractions in the context.

This task requires students to study the make-a-ten strategy that they should already know and use intuitively. In this strategy, knowledge of which sums make a ten, together with some of the properties of addition and subtraction, are used to evaluate sums which are larger than 10.

This task is to introduce students to the concept of reading an analog clock.

Making a 10 provides a technique to help students master single digit addition. The task is designed to help students visualize where the 10's are on a single digit addition table and explain why this is so. This knowledge can then be used to help them learn the addition table.

The purpose of this task is to generate a classroom discussion about ratios and unit rates in context.

Historically, seafloor mapping occurred with a simple data collection method: soundings. Soundings are taken by dropping a weight with a pre-measured rope off the side of a boat and noting the measurement on the rope when the weight hits the bottom. In this activity, student teams replicate the creation of seafloor bathymetry by taking a simplified form of soundings of an unseen seafloor model inside a shoebox and translating their collected data into a visualization of the topography, enabling them to better understand and appreciate modern remote sensing.

Students are introduced to the concept of tracking and spatial movements of animals in relation to the environments in which they live. Students improve their understanding of animal tracking and how technology is used in this process.

This will be a fast paced introduction to fun facts and plant stories guaranteed to enrich your workshops and pique your participant’s interest! Expect a plethora of ideas, activities and extensions for PLT activities including historic uses, facts and mathematical explanations.

This task provides three types of comparison problems: Those with an unknown difference and two known numbers; those with a known difference and a bigger unknown number; and those with a known difference and smaller unknown number. Students may solve each type using addition or subtraction, although the language in specific problems tends to favor one approach over another.

The marine environment is unique and because little light penetrates under water, technologies that use sound are required to gather information. The seafloor is characterized using underwater sound and acoustical systems. Current technological innovations enable scientists to further understand and apply information about animal locations and habitat. Remote sensing and exploration with underwater vehicles enables researchers to map and understand the sea floor. Similar technologies also aid in animal tracking, a method used within science and commercial industries. Through inquiry-based learning techniques, students learn the importance of habitat mapping and animal tracking.

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Students play the role of engineers as they test, design and build Mentos(TM) fountains a dramatic example of how potential energy (stored energy) can be converted to kinetic energy (motion). They are challenged to work together as a class to optimize the design of the basic soda/candy geyser made by the teacher. To do this, three research teams each investigate how a different variable nozzle shape, soda temperature, number of candies affects fountain height. They devise and run experimental tests to determine the best variable values. Then they combine their results to design the highest fountain to compete head-to-head with the teacher's geyser design.

The purpose of the task is for students to solve a multi-step multiplication problem in a context that involves area. In addition, the numbers were chosen to determine if students have a common misconception related to multiplication.

In this task students work with partners to measure themselves by laying multiple copies of a shorter object that represents the length unit end to end. It gives students the opportunity to discuss the need to be careful when measuring.

Students learn about the statistical analysis of measurements and error propagation, reviewing concepts of precision, accuracy and error types. This is done through calculations related to the concept of density. Students work in teams to each measure the dimensions and mass of five identical cubes, compile the measurements into small data sets, calculate statistics including the mean and standard deviation of these measurements, and use the mean values of the measurements to calculate density of the cubes. Then they use this calculated density to determine the mass of a new object made of the same material. This is done by measuring the appropriate dimensions of the new object, calculating its volume, and then calculating its mass using the density value. Next, the mass of the new object is measured by each student group and the standard deviation of the measurements is calculated. Finally, students determine the accuracy of the calculated mass by comparing it to the measured mass, determining whether the difference in the measurements is more or less than the standard deviation.