Page 170 - Mathematics GRADE 9, DE-STREAMED (MTH1W)

Teacher Prompts
• What is a question that interests you? How might mathematical modelling help you answer this question?
• What data/information would you need to answer the question?
• How could you collect or find this data?
• How would you develop a plan to analyse the (graphical/numerical) data?
• How do you identify what your assumptions are about your question?
Sample Tasks
Have students identify potential questions of interest, then have them identify the information required to build a mathematical model to answer the questions. Some sample topics for students to form questions of interest around could include the following:
• Have students discuss the information required to build a mathematical model to help plan school bus stops so that students do not have to walk too far to get to their nearest stop, yet the bus does not have to stop so often that a trip takes too long.
• In some places, drones are used to deliver parcels, rather than delivery trucks. In the first step of identifying a question of interest, have students discuss what sorts of situations might warrant the use of drones rather than delivery trucks and why.
• In contemporary society, people often rent rather than purchase entertainment, including using subscription services. For instance, most people have shifted from buying a copy of their favourite music album or movie to renting it for a limited time or streaming it. Have students discuss whether the choice to rent entertainment is based on cost, quality, convenience, environmental impact, or other factors, and determine what information they might need to gather to answer these questions.
• At some intersections, there are stop signs; others have traffic lights; and some have roundabouts. Have students determine what sort of information city planners might need to collect in order to determine what type of traffic-control device or measure is placed at each intersection. Have them discuss how their mathematical model might help them predict where they might change the placement of stop signs, traffic lights, and roundabouts in their neighbourhood, if they were the traffic designers.
169