Benzel Math

The last part of a 5 part series on SAT Math called 5 Steps to a 500+ on the Math SAT. This mini lesson features SAT style problems from "passport to Advanced Mathematics" or even problems that have dense text/tables. While these problems may give the appearance of being difficult, with the right reading patterns and mindset these problems can become much easier for your students. This lesson teaches students to break problems down into more manageable parts. The Handshake Problem is taught at

This is part 4 of a 5 part series called 5 Steps to a 500+ on the Math SAT. Step 4 is know what "Average" means. One of the common misconceptions is that many people believe that the mean is the only measure of central tendency. They fail to examine the median and the mode. In this lesson, we look at SAT like problems related to mean, median and mode and in multiple representations. Additionally, there is a real life problem that is centered on comparing the reliability of different automakers.

This mini lesson is Part 3 of the 5 part series of 5 Steps to a 500+ on the Math SAT. The topic of this lesson is thinking proportionally. Ratio is a comparison between two numbers. Proportion is an equation that equates 2 ratios. Ratio and proportions form the basis of geometric problems, percentage problems and even statistical inference. Students who master proportional reasoning will find a great improvement on their numerical reasoning skills on the SAT and be able to access more question t

This lesson is part of a 5 part collection of SAT strategies designed towards getting students a college ready score on the Math SAT. This particular lesson is focused on helping students understand and apply the slope intercept form equation to application problems on the SAT. Unlike other SAT prep books, students will not only engage in SAT like problems but through "thought exercises" will be guided to learn how to read and interpret graphs and equations strategically.

Step 1: Know What a Solution Means is the most important and foundational step in becoming a mathematically proficient student. This is the first lesson in a 5 part series and book called 5 Steps to a 500+ on the Math SAT. In this lesson, students will engage in problems related to the equal sign and learn about the value of plugging in solutions so that the two parts of the equations are equal. We dive into easy to medium level questions where students are encouraged to use their knowledge of

A nice way to end a short unit on Imaginary Numbers in an Algebra class. Students are given choices to work out problems related to imaginary numbers, write about the existence of imaginary numbers. A rubric is included for assessing student work.

This project allows students to use scale factor in the context of coordinate Geometry. They are to graph their own image, put around 15 (x,y) coordinates on their image and then perform scale factor to make a larger or smaller version of their picture of choice. Another component is the reflection component where students are required to answer some questions about the process of their creation of their scale drawings.

I created a nice lively discussion about the existence of imaginary numbers. This is a guided notes sheet that guides students through an example of running into negative square roots. We talk about why negative square roots don't work and provide imaginary numbers as a solution. The students also see patterns for the powers of i and then evaluate some negative square roots.

A mandala is a ritual symbol that is used in the Hindu and Buddhist religions. During the course, we will be going deeper into studying shapes at large and the physical features of those shapes. Ancient people used Geometry when creating mandalas, and we will be use Geometry to create a mandala that is symbolic of who you are and what your goals are.