Activity Overview
During this activity, students will explore the expected cost of college and also look at methods of saving money for the future. Comparing simple and compound interest will help students make decisions about their future. Students will compare two plans that address what happens over time with compound interest and what impact it makes on the total amount saved by starting early.
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:
Use a formula to find simple interest, given the principal, rate, and time for an investment
Investigate the effect of two different investment plans on the total value of an investment
Explore the future value of a given amount
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.