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We do this project in the spring, when students are excited to finally go outside again! Students learn that there are only 2 things to know about each circle: "the center" (where it is) and "the radius" (how big it is). They'll pretend that they're teachers on recess duty, trying to get students to listen to them. This activity could lead into a discussion of other practical applications of conic sections, for example "Where to place cell phone towers"?
New for the 2024-25 school year, we'll be using the "Hook Lesson" for Conic Sections. We'll also suggest that teachers print out a poster-sized copy of the "Menu of Covariaton" and post it in the front of their classrooms.
Teacher suggestions:
Day 1 - Introduce the project and teach the "center-radius" form of a circle equation. Tell the students that they'll be going outside tomorrow.
Day 2 - Take the class outside to collect data. Give them time to work on their projects in class. Projects are due "Day 5." You could assign the paper copy of the project (below) or this "Google-Classroom Friendly" version.
Day 3-5(or 9) Ideally, this is when you teach students about ellipses, hyperbolas, and the algebra necessary to convert circle equations from standard form to center-radius form. Usually, this is when we start to run out of curriculum time and have to settle for just graphing circles and ellipses.
Day 5 (or 10) - Unit Quiz/Test
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