Education Technology

Discriminating Against the Zero

Subject Area
Math: Precalculus: Polynomial, Power, and Rational Functions
Math: College Algebra: Equations and Inequalities
Level
9-12
Activity Time
30 Minutes
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS/CX II CAS
TI-Nspire Version
3.2
Resource Types
Lessons
Format
TNS

Discriminating Against the Zero

Activity Overview

In this introductory activity, students explore when a graph has two zeros, one zero, and no real zeros. They will also determine when a graph has real, rational, irrational, or imaginary roots. The teacher should then follow up with a formal discussion on the discriminant.

Subject Area
Math: Precalculus: Polynomial, Power, and Rational Functions
Math: College Algebra: Equations and Inequalities
Level
9-12
Activity Time
30 Minutes
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS/CX II CAS
TI-Nspire Version
3.2
Resource Types
Lessons
Format
TNS
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