Activity Overview
In this adventure, students will analyze the relationship between height and stride length, and then use that information to identify the biker who left the footprints. They create a scatter plot, find the linear regression equation for the data, and use it to make a prediction.
Before the Activity
See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print pages 71 - 72 from the attached PDF file for your class
Transfer files to the student calculator using the TI-Navigator™ "send to class" feature
During the Activity
Distribute the pages to your class.
Follow the Adventure procedures:
Collect Data:
Measure the height (without shoes) of each student
Mark a starting line and have each student stand with the backs of his or her heels at the edge of the starting line
Have students take 10 normal-length walking steps in a straight line
After the 10th step, mark the final position of the back of the student's heels and measure the distance
in centimeters between that mark and the edge of the starting line
Calculate the average stride length
Enter height and average stride length of each student in lists on the calculator
Graph data as a scatter plot
Find the line of best fit, and determine the equation showing relationship between stride length and height
Stride length = (a)(height) + b where a and b are constants
Use the sample data to find the person who left the footprints
TI-Navigator activity:
Load the corr1-4.act and the corr5-8.act activity settings file
Have students determine correlation coefficient r and r^2 to find how well the line fits the data
After the Activity
Students analyze the results and answer the questions in the worksheet
Review student results:
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary