Education Technology

Sign of the Derivative

Subject Area
Math: Calculus: Derivatives
Math: AP Calculus: AP Calculus
Level
9-12
Activity Time
45 Minutes
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire Version
2.1
Resource Types
Lessons
Format
TNS

Sign of the Derivative

Activity Overview

Make a connection between the sign of the derivative and the increasing or decreasing nature of the graph.

Objectives

  • Make a connection between the sign of the derivative (positive/negative/zero) and the increasing or decreasing nature of the graph

About the Lesson

Students will move a point on a function and observe the changes in the sign of the derivative. Based on observations, students will answer questions on a worksheet. In the second part of the investigation, students will move the point and see a trace of the derivative to connect the positive or negative sign of the derivative with the location on the coordinate plane.

Subject Area
Math: Calculus: Derivatives
Math: AP Calculus: AP Calculus
Level
9-12
Activity Time
45 Minutes
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire Version
2.1
Resource Types
Lessons
Format
TNS
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