Richard Wade

See activity here http://www.teachmaths-inthinking.co.uk/activities/firefighter-parabolas.htm This is a perfect activity to discover the properties of quadratic graphs. An investigation to 1) describe the axis of symmetry, 2) find the vertex form and 3) describe the zeros of a quadratic function. It includes fun quizzes and is concluded with a firefighter game where Sam must aim the water jet correctly to put out the fire. Great fun!

For FULL activity visit http://teachmaths-inthinking.co.uk/activities/transforming-functions-the-stretch.htm Students find transforming functions one of the most demanding topics in mathematics at this level. In particular, the effect a has on the function, f(x) for y=af(x) and y=f(ax) and understanding just what a stretch is. This activity documents the most succesful approach I've had with this topic. It approaches the idea from the angle of transforming shapes, looking at the effect on the co