Help pupils see the world through the eyes of a mathematician. As they examine tide patterns, sound waves, and stock market patterns using trigonometric functions, learners create scatter plots and write best-fit functions. 

Concepts

math modeling, problem solving strategies, graphing trigonometric functions, trigonometric functions, scatter plots, data analysis, data

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Additional Tags

math

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Instructional Ideas

• Have learners find and analyze data online for local periodic data such as daylight hours or tide patterns
• Create collaborative groups to analyze the data in the first example; graph the different functions they create to discuss accuracy

Classroom Considerations

• Pupils need graph paper for the lesson
• The 13th in a 19-part series of lessons

Pros

• Uses data that is not perfect to emphasize the idea of predictions and estimation
• Provides a set of practice problems for independent practice and includes a worked-out solution guide

Cons

• None

Common Core

HSS-ID.B.6.a MP2 MP3 MP5 MP6