Before the Activity
Teacher preparation:
Download the attached .Doc documents and the TI_Nspire document. You will need to copy the .TNS document to students; handheld before the exploration.
Read activities in advance.
During the Activity
Classroom management tips:
Be prepared to guide students during the exploration.
Encourage students to look for patterns, make connections, and share their findings during the exploration.
After the Activity
Evaluate students' conjectures written on page 4.1 on their TI_Nspire document.
Activity extensions: Students will determine side length of right triangles by using trigonometric functions.
Connections to other content areas to explore: trigonometric ratios can be used to measure the heights of objects, such as an eruption of a geyser that cannot be measured directly.
Use the attached "Extending Trig Ratios" to accomplish the following objectives:
Students will use a rotating ray in a coordinate plane to define angles measuring greater than 90° and less than 360°.
Students will define sine, cosine, and tangent for angles of any size.
Real-world connections for the Extension: Students can use angles of rotation to determine the rate at which a skater must spin to complete a jump.
Connections to other content areas to explore: Periodic phenomena such as sound waves can be modeled with trigonometric functions.