Material in this unit will be used as real world problems for the teaching of several aspects of the Common Core State Standards and the Math Practices for middle school. The activities are aimed at helping students to develop an understanding of slope, linear equations, exponents, exponential curves, rates, unit rates, proportions, finding percents, and ordering decimals.
Common Core State Standards This first group of standards are seventh grade standards, They can be found at http://www.corestandards.org/Math/
Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.1
Compute unit rates associated with ratios of fractions, including ratios of lengths, areas and other quantities measured in like or different units. For example, if a person walks 1/2 mile in each 1/4 hour, compute the unit rate as the complex fraction 1/2/1/4 miles per hour, equivalently 2 miles per hour.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2
Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2.A
Decide whether two quantities are in a proportional relationship, e.g., by testing for equivalent ratios in a table or graphing on a coordinate plane and observing whether the graph is a straight line through the origin.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2.B
Identify the constant of proportionality (unit rate) in tables, graphs, equations, diagrams, and verbal descriptions of proportional relationships.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2.C
Represent proportional relationships by equations. For example, if total cost t is proportional to the number n of items purchased at a constant price p, the relationship between the total cost and the number of items can be expressed as t = pn.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.2.D
Explain what a point (x, y) on the graph of a proportional relationship means in terms of the situation, with special attention to the points (0, 0) and (1, r) where r is the unit rate.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.EE.B.4
Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.
This next group of standards are eighth grade standards, and can also be found at the website referenced above.
Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.B.5
Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional relationships represented in different ways. For example, compare a distance-time graph to a distance-time equation to determine which of two moving objects has greater speed.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.B.6
Use similar triangles to explain why the slope m is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line in the coordinate plane; derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation y = mx + b for a line intercepting the vertical axis at b.
Analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations.
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.C.7
Solve linear equations in one variable.
These standards are applicable to all grades, k-12
Standards for Math Practices
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.