Activity Overview
In this activity, students make use of the Derive™ software and explore expansions of binomial expressions.
Before the Activity
Install the Derive 6™ software on the computer
See the attached PDF or DFW file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print the attached PDF file or the DFW file for the class
During the Activity
Distribute the pages to the class.
Follow the Activity procedures:
Enter an expression (x + a)n
Set up a table with the power n as the parameter
Specify a range of values for n
Highlight the developed table and apply the Expand function
Generate the table of binomial expansions
Define a function f(x) = xn
Apply the rule of the function f to different values of x
Set up a table for (f(x + h) and f (x))/h
Apply the limit process as h tends to zero for each element in the table, and simplify the values
After the Activity
Review student results:
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary