Education Technology


Algebra II: Modeling with a Quadratic Function

by Texas Instruments

Objectives

  • Students will model a basketball’s flight through the air using a quadratic function.
  • Students will analyze their quadratic function and interpret the parameters of the function in relation to the flight path of the basketball.
  • Students will reason abstractly and quantitatively, model with mathematics, and attend to precision.

Vocabulary

  • Parent quadratic function
  • Maximum value of a quadratic function
  • Zero of a quadratic function

About the Lesson

In this lesson, students use a quadratic function to model the flight path of a basketball. Students will interpret the parameters of the quadratic model to answer questions related to the path of the basketball.
As a result, students will:

  • Model data with quadratic functions
  • Interpret the vertex of a quadratic function in a real-world context
  • Determine a zero of a quadratic equation.
  • Use a mathematical model to make predictions.