This is a wonderful exercise for learners to apply their critical thinking skills along with their knowledge of quadratic functions and parabolas. Young mathematicians investigate a real-world scenario about the height a baseball reaches when it is thrown. They compare two different representations, a graph and an equation, of the height as a function of time. Answering the three questions the activity poses requires finding the vertex and roots of a quadratic equation using a method of choice and interpreting the solutions within the context of the problem. The exercise can be used for assessment or practice.

Common Core

HSF-IF.B.4 HSF-IF.B.5 HSF-IF.C.9 MP1 MP2 MP3 MP4 MP6