Education Technology


NUMB3RS - Season 3 - "Pandora's Box" - Fresh Air and Parabolas

Activity Overview

In "Pandora's Box," a corporate jet crashes in a forest. The cause of the crash becomes suspicious when the airplane's flight management computer (FMC) "which contains important information about conditions before the crash and can help identify the cause of a crash" is missing.
Students will study equations for trajectories using linear and quadratic functions. Students will use parametric functions to display the trajectories on their graphing calculators.

Before the Activity

Download the attached PDF and look over the Teacher Page.

During the Activity

Discuss the materials from the Student Page with your class.

After the Activity

Encourage students to explore web sites and questions from the Extensions Page.