Peter Richards

Students will build a mechanism using given supplies to launch a ping pong ball. The goal of the project is to make the launcher consistent so that they can write an accurate quadratic equation to model the path of their ping pong ball. Students will then predict how long it will take their ping pong ball to hit the ground after being launched from the top of the bleachers. This project helps students better understand how to write a quadratic equation based on real projectile motion, why findi

This WKST has students perform four basic transformations on an object: translating, reflecting, rotating, and dilating. They will perform these transformations on the same object on the same graph and will write the coordinates of each point in its final position.

In this project, students pick any item from their home or backpack (or wherever) and find the volume of this object. The object must be composite, however, so they will need to combine multiple formulas for the volume of several objects to find the objects true volume. The project includes an example for students to follow, as well as a handout to give them for their project.

Extra practice converting between units and converting rates. Students are given an initial measurement and must convert it into the units requested.

An excel spreadsheet set up for you to be able to enter in team/player names, who beat whom, and then be able to instantly track who is at the top of the power rankings. The formula not only keeps track of how many wins and losses each team/player has, but also takes into account who they beat and gives more points to the teams/players that have wins against better teams/players. If you are a coach or a club advisor, this can be very helpful - I use it personally for my tennis team and chess clu

Students observe Mike's Investment Portfolio to see how he is growing (or decaying) the money he made over the summer. Students will use exponential functions to figure out how much money he made or lost on each investment, and will calculate how much money he has at the end of 3 years. This activity provides good practice for students learning how to use exponential functions including the compound interest formula.