Education Technology


Spring Training

Activity Overview

Students explore parametric equations by finding the horizontal and vertical distances traveled by a projectile.

Key Steps

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    Students engage in an exploration of parametric equations that model projectile motion. In the first problem, students study the path of a baseball after being struck by a bat.

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    A function table is used to explore key function values that relate to maximum height reached, horizontal distance traveled, and time of travel.

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    In the second problem, students explore the path of a golf ball. They drag a point along the parametric graph to populate a spreadsheet, which is then used to generate a quadratic equation.