• Printer Friendly Version
• Send to a Friend
• Add to My ePortfolio

Subject

Math, Science & Technology, Mathematics (NYS P-12 Common Core)

Note

This "classroom idea" is provided to illustrate examples of each performance indicator. Teachers should feel free to use it or adapt it if they so desire. Some of the ideas exemplify more than one performance indicator and/or incorporate topics in science and technology. In those instances, the appropriate performance indicators will be identified.

Authors

Mathematics Resource Guide with Core Curriculum Writing Team

Description

Physicists tell us that the altitude h in feet of a projectile t seconds after firing is h = -16t² + v_ut + h_o where v_u is the upward component of its initial velocity in feet per second and h _o is the altitude in feet from which it is fired. A rocket is launched from a hilltop 2400 feet above the desert with an initial upward velocity of 400 feet per second. When will it land on the desert? Discuss what the discriminant can tell you about the solution to this problem. Then use the quadratic equation to find the solution and explain your answer.

Source

Mathematics Resource Guide with Core Curriculum Writing Team. "Classroom Ideas." Mathematics Resource Guide with Core Curriculum, New York State Department of Education, 152.

Related Academic Standards

New York State

N-VM.1 Recognize vector quantities as having both magnitude and direction. Represent vector quantities by directed line segments, and use appropriate symbols for vectors and their magnitudes (e.g., v, |v|, ||v||, v).

N-VM.2 Find the components of a vector by subtracting the coordinates of an initial point from the coordinates of a terminal point.

N-VM.3 Solve problems involving velocity and other quantities that can be represented by vectors.

N-VM.4 Add and subtract vectors.

N-VM.4.a Add vectors end-to-end, component-wise, and by the parallelogram rule. Understand that the magnitude of a sum of two vectors is typically not the sum of the magnitudes.

View All