Grade 9 Scratch Lessons & Challenges

Infinity Pool - Using Geometry and Coding to Explore Limits and Infinity   This lesson introduces students to the concepts of limits and infinity through the lens of a practical geometry and measurement problem and through the use of coding and spreadsheets. Students will begin with a practical problem, then investigate, in a theoretical way, how increasing the number of sides of a regular polygon, while holding the perimeter fixed, influences the area of the polygon. They will create a pattern of polygon area calculations that tends to the largest area, a circle, by adding smaller and smaller increments. Patterns will be examined using tables of values and graphs, with an end goal of students understanding that the area will approach a limiting value. Students will then apply this new knowledge to the original practical problem. (AA1, A1, B1.3, C1.5, C2.3, D1.3, D2.1,E1.4)

The Crow and the Pitcher   Through an exploration of Aesop’s Fable, the Crow and the Pitcher, students will use algebra and coding to solve problems involving measurement and, in doing so, will develop problem-solving strategies. To simulate the story told in the fable, students will gather data, and will later develop an algebraic model and test their model. Students will consolidate strategies for problem-solving. Finally, they will test their strategies with a new dunk tank challenge.  (AA1, A1, A2, C1.2, C1.3, C1.5, C2.2, C2.3, D2.1  Cross-Curricular Connections: Science Grade 9, B1, B2, B3)