Education Technology


Balloons

Activity Overview

This activity is about gathering data to create a scatter plot and then look at a line of best fit. Students will measure the circumference of a blown up balloon and then they will time how long it takes the balloon to deflate. They will enter this information in to their lists and then graph the scatter plot. Teachers can then use the Navigator System to screen capture the graphs and discuss them. Teachers can also use the Navigator to compile all of the lists for a better scatter plot.

Before the Activity

Students will need to be able to create lists on the calculator and then create scatter plots from the lists. Students will also need background information on approximating a line of best fit and how to find the equation of that line.

During the Activity

Students need to work in groups of three or four. You may also want to talk to students about redoing data points which are "bad" like if the balloon lands on a desk instead of the ground, etc.

After the Activity

After students have made their scatter plots and found the line of best fit, the Navigator System can be used to further analyze the data. One way that it can be used is by doing a screen capture of all of the student's scatter plots. This will help to foster a discussion about similarities and differences in the student data. The second way that the Navigator System could be used would be through the Activity Center. The students could send their L1 and L2 to the teacher, and then the teacher can send all of the compiled lists back to the students for further analyzation. Students can make another scatter plot with all of the data and find the line of best fit for the data. They can analyze how the line of best fit changes when they have more data points, versus just the 20 data points. Teachers could also use the screen capture again to compare the lines of best fit for the different groups to see how they are similar and different.