Education Technology


Math TODAY for TI-Navigator System - Is Leisure Time Really Shrinking?

Activity Overview

Students will to organize data from the USA TODAY Snapshot, "Is leisure time really shrinking?" into two scatter plots and determine the quadratic model for each scatter plot. Students will determine if these graphs intersect and learn the concept of extrapolation by expanding the viewing window to find the intersection. Students will also calculate percent increase or decrease by comparing the predicted value with the listed value through percent of error.

Before the Activity

Setup your TI-Navigator™ System

  • Make sure you are familiar with the following functions: Send to Class, Collect from Class, Screen Capture, Quick Poll and Activity Center

  • Your students will need a TI-83 Plus or TI-84 Plus graphing calculator, either working in pairs or individually
  • Download the attached activity resource files from all three sections to your computer

    Recommendations:
  • Multimedia Projector for sharing the Activity Center, Quick Polls and Screen Captures with your students

  • TI Keyboards for students to easily answer the LearningCheck assessment questions

  • During the Activity

    Students will:

  • Create two scatter plots from the data
  • Explore quadratic regression models for the scatter plots
  • Find the intersection for the system of quadratic equations
  • Find the vertex of a quadratic model
  • Calculate the percent error between two values for one of the data sets


  • Directions
  • Distribute the Student Edition PDF file to your class
  • Follow the activity procedures outlined in the Teacher document
  • You may use the Graphic PDF file to display a large image of the USA TODAY graphic during the activity

  • After the Activity

    Access your students' understanding by using Send to Class, LearningCheck™ App and Class Analysis.