Education Technology


Stacking Bricks

Activity Overview

This activity presents a real-world situation--stacking bricks in a pile--that can be modeled by a polynomial function. Students create a small table to show how the number of bricks relates to the number of rows, and calculate the first, second, and third differences of the data. Next, they use the handheld's statistical calculation functions to perform the correct regression. Finally, they evaluate the model using a variety of methods.

Key Steps

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    Download the attached PDF and look over the information on the first page. Download and distribute the attached .tns file for use during the activity. A .tns file containing expected student results is also available for download.

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    Discuss the material from the activity pages with students as needed.

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    Encourage students to summarize what they have learned from completing the activity.