Objectives: To introduce students to using the ability to move between linear log relationships to power and exponential functions in order to model data.
Preliminaries/Lead-In:
Suggested Procedures: I will probably do this activity over 2 days - doing 1 and 2 on the first day (asking the students to finish 2 if we don't get it finished) and then giving them a whole day in class on 3 also. Some students won't need this so it is a good idea to have a webassign homework posted for those students to work on when they get finished. I refer students back to 4.4A regularly. I let them work through 1 while I go around and answer questions - then once almost everyone has a model for 1 I check their models using the mathematica notebook attached below. Then I tell them to continue with 2 if they have not already done this - if time I also check these models in mathematica or else I will do this at the beginning of the next class. Similarly with 3 I let them work on it very independently going around and helping where needed. Many will fill in the log columns on the table incorrectly (using logt instead of logB for instance in the semilog table). Another common mistake is to plot the final model against the semilog data instead of against the original data - I generally point out the input and output and ask them to find the graph with the same input and output - that was the graph they should have been checking their model against.
Wrap-Up/Take-Away:
Possible Homework: Ask them to finish the activity and hand it in at the beginning of the next class (after the two days spent on this activity in class).
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