Cluster 2: Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations. (Major Cluster)Archived

A variety of graph paper types for printing, including Cartesian, polar, engineering, isometric, logarithmic, hexagonal, probability, and Smith chart.

Type: Educational Software / Tool

Students are asked to derive the general equation of a line with a y-intercept of (0, b).

Type: Formative Assessment

Students are asked to use similar triangles to explain why the slope is the same regardless of the points used to calculate it.

Type: Formative Assessment

Students are asked to derive the general equation of a line containing the origin.

Type: Formative Assessment

This lesson is intended to help you assess how well students are able to:

• Interpret speed as the slope of a linear graph.
• Translate between the equation of a line and its graphical representation.

Type: Formative Assessment

Students are asked to identify, describe and compare the slopes of two proportional relationships given the graph of one and the equation of the other.

Type: Formative Assessment

Students are given a graph of a proportional relationship and asked to determine the unit rate of the relationship and compare it to the slope of the graph.

Type: Formative Assessment

Students are asked to graph a proportional relationship, given a table of values, and find and interpret the slope.

Type: Formative Assessment

This is lesson 3 of 3 in the Slope Intercept unit. This lesson introduces similar triangles to explain why slope is the same between any two points on a non-vertical line. In this lesson students perform an activity to determine that slope is constant throughout a line and students will discover the slope for vertical and horizontal lines.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson 2 of 3 in the Slope Intercept unit. This lesson introduces graphing non-proportional linear relationships. In this lesson students will perform an activity to collect data to derive y = mx + b and will use a Scratch program to plot the graph of the data, as well as check for proportional and/or linear relationships.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson 1 of 3 in the Slope Intercept unit. This lesson introduces graphing proportional relationships. In this lesson students will perform an experiment to find and relate density of two different materials to the constant of proportionality and unit rate.

Type: Lesson Plan

This 5E lesson will build on students' prior knowledge of positive proportional relationships and graphing them. It will introduce students to negative values of slopes, which will lead to graphing negative proportional relationships. Students will discover properties of different values of slope and have the opportunity to practice graphing. This lesson is designed to be done in a 50-minute block.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson unit is intended to help you assess how well students are able to interpret speed as the slope of a linear graph and translate between the equation of a line and its graphical representation.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will graph and compare two proportional relationships from different representations in contextual problems and be introduced to the slope as the unit rate.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students listen to a video that describes Kepler's determination that planetary orbits are elliptical and then will use data for the solar distance and periods of several of the planets in the solar system, then investigate several hypotheses to determine which is supported by the data.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will design a "Skateboard Kicker Ramp" to discover that slope of similar triangles is the same at any two distinct points.  Students will model with mathematics the concept of slope by looking at the pattern set by similar triangles.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students construct and calibrate a simple hydrometer using different salt solutions. They then graph their data and determine the density and salinity of an unknown solution using their hydrometer and graphical analysis.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson requires that the students walk in the hallway along a path marked every five feet and record the total distance they traveled over 8 seconds. The students then use this point and the origin to graph a line of distance versus time. A class discussion then leads the students to understand that the slope of the line is their walking speed and this can be found using rise over run.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students discover that the unit rate and the slope of a line are the same, and these are used to compare two different proportional relationships.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will compare the unit rates of proportional relationships using words, tables, graphs and equations.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn how similar right triangles can show how the slope is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line as you help Hailey build stairs to her tree house in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this task, students are asked to determine the unit price of a product under two different circumstances. They are also asked to generalize the cost of producing x items in each case.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

The purpose of this task is to show how the ideas in the RP and EE domains in 6th and 7th grade mature in 8th grade. Parts (a)-(c) could easily be asked of 7th grade students. Part (a) asks students to do what is described in 7.RP.2.a, Part (b) asks students to do what is described in 7.RP.2.c, and Part (c) is the 7th grade extension of the work students do in .
On the other hand, part (d) is 8th grade work. It is true that in 7th grade, "Students graph proportional relationships and understand the unit rate informally as a measure of the steepness of the related line, called the slope". However, in 8th grade students are ready to treat slopes more formally: 8.EE.5 says students should "graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph" which is what they are asked to do in part (d).

Type: Problem-Solving Task

This task asks the student to graph and compare two proportional relationships and interpret the unit rate as the slope of the graph.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

In this example, students will answer questions about unit price of coffee, make a graph of the information, and explain the meaning of slope in the given context.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

This task provides the opportunity for students to reason about graphs, slopes, and rates without having a scale on the axes or an equation to represent the graphs. Students who prefer to work with specific numbers can write in scales on the axes to help them get started.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

This task asks students to reason about the relative costs per pound of two fruits without actually knowing what the costs are. Students who find this difficult may add a scale to the graph and reason about the meanings of the ordered pairs. Comparing the two approaches in a class discussion can be a profitable way to help students make sense of slope.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

This task asks the student to understand the relationship between slope and changes in x- and y-values of a linear function.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

This activity challenges students to recognize the relationship between slope and the difference in x- and y-values of a linear function. Help students solidify their understanding of linear functions and push them to be more fluent in their reasoning about slope and y-intercepts. This task has also produced a reasonable starting place for discussing point-slope form of a linear equation.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Students can practice answering mathematics questions on a variety of topics. With an account, students can save their work and send it to their teacher when complete.

Type: Student Center Activity

Students will first measure and plot the total mass vs liquid volume in a graduated cylinder. They will then use slope and the mathematical formula for the plot to determine the density of the liquid, the density of a solid added to the liquid, and the mass of the graduated cylinder.

Type: Teaching Idea

In this activity, the density of ethanol is found by graphical means. In the second part, the density of sodium thiosulfate is found, also by graphical means. The values found are then analyzed statistically.

Type: Teaching Idea

This tutorial shows how to find the slope from two ordered pairs. Students will see what happens to the slope of a horizontal line.

Type: Tutorial

In this tutorial, you will use your knowledge about similar triangles, as well as parallel lines and transversals, to prove that the slope of any given line is constant.

Type: Tutorial

This tutorial shows an example of finding the slope between two ordered pairs. Slope is presented as rise/run, the change in y divided by the change in x and also as m.

Type: Tutorial

This tutorial will help you to explore slopes of lines and see how slope is represented on the x-y axes.

Type: Tutorial

This session on linear function and slope contains five parts, multiple problems and videos, and interactive activities geared to help students recognize and understand linear relationships, explore slope and dependent and independent variables in graphs of linear relationships, and develop an understanding of rates and how they are related to slopes and equations. Throughout the session, students use spreadsheets to complete the work, and are encouraged to think about the ways technology can aid in teaching and understanding. The solutions for all problems are given, and many allow students to have a hint or tip as they solve. There is even a homework assignment with four problems for students after they have finished all five parts of the session.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

In this resource, a special kind of functional relationship is explored: the proportional relationship. Teachers may find the resource useful for professional development, especially the videos. Students develop proportional reasoning skills by comparing quantities, looking at the relative ways numbers change, and thinking about proportional relationships in linear functions.
This resource has four objectives. Students learn to differentiate between relative and absolute meanings of "more" and determine which of these is a proportional relationship, compare ratios without using common denominator algorithms, differentiate between additive and multiplicative processes and their effects on scale and proportionality, and interpret graphs that represent proportional relationships or direct variation.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

"Lesson 1 of two lessons teaches students about direct variation by allowing them to explore a simulated oil spill using toilet paper tissues (to represent land) and drops of vegetable oil (to simulate a volume of oil). Lesson 2 teaches students about inverse variation by exploring the relationship between the heights of a fixed amount of water poured into cylindrical containers of different sizes as compared to the area of the containers' bases." from Insights into Algebra 1 - Annenberg Foundation.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

"Slope" is a fundamental concept in mathematics. Slope of a linear function is often defined as " the rise over the run"....but why?

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

This manipulative will help you to explore the world of lines. You can investigate the relationships between linear equations, slope, and graphs of lines.

Type: Virtual Manipulative