Education Technology


Featured Activities: Fill the Vase

by Texas Instruments

Objectives

Interpretation of graphs of empirical data with respect to rate of change, specifically, the height of water in containers of different shapes that are being filled at a constant rate

Vocabulary

  • Rate of change
  • Empirical data
  • Constant / Variable

About the Lesson

The teacher notes provide practical suggestions on how this lesson can be introduced, including YouTube videos and data collection, both options provide quickly accessible contextual and empirical data. The student questions provide forward and reverse conceptual development. Students respond to questions requiring them to produce a volume-height graph for a given vase and then the reverse, draw a picture of a vase given a particular volume – height graph. The final question challenges students to draw a graph if the water is flowing out at a constant rate.