FanPost

Maybe my 9th graders can make sense of this one... (MU@GU)

How does MU manage to blow such a huge lead? I have no idea.
How does a math teacher who is a fan of the team unwind after such a crushing loss? By scrapping her lesson plan and sending her algebra students on a quest in search of answers. (Believe it or not, this actually connects to the stuff we are covering in class, so I'm not laying down on the job)

My brilliant lesson plan: (with student responses on where exactly things went wrong to come...)

Scatter Plot Lab: Marquette at Georgetown
Objectives: WALT use a scatter plot to determine relationships in real-life events; WALT find the line of best fit of a scatter plot; WALT find the slope of a line.
1. Read the entire lab before starting. Make sure you are ready for step #9.

2. Define the following (from your notes or the textbook):
a. Scatter plot:___________________________________________________
b. Slope: _______________________________________________________
c. Function:______________________________________________________
d. Vertical line test:________________________________________________
e. Line of best fit: _________________________________________________


3. Use the graph paper and play-by-play printout provided to plot each team’s score throughout the game. You should plot EVERY time someone scores. Be sure to color-code the points by team. Include this in a key on your graph.
a. What is the dependent variable?__________ Which axis is it on?______
b. What is the independent variable? _________Which axis is it on? _____


4. A vertical line (from 4.2) is defined as x=constant. You should create a vertical line for each timeout (there are 16) AND at the end of the first half. Label these lines on your graph, Then label the parts in between A-R.


5. Draw a line of best fit for each team’s score between each vertical line.


6. Find the slope of each line of best fit.
a. MU _____ GT______
b. MU _____ GT______
c. MU _____ GT______
d. MU _____ GT______
e. MU _____ GT______
f. MU _____ GT______
g. MU _____ GT______
h. MU _____ GT______
i. MU _____ GT______
j. MU _____ GT______
k. MU _____ GT______
l. MU _____ GT______
m. MU _____ GT______
n. MU _____ GT______
o. MU _____ GT______
p. MU _____ GT______
q. MU _____ GT______
r. MU _____ GT______

7. If you were going to pinpoint a shift in the momentum for each team, where would you place it (A-R)? Use the slopes of your lines of best fit and your own knowledge of basketball to help explain this. (Use 2-3 complete sentences).


8. Does your scatter plot demonstrate a function? Why or why not?


9. Be prepared to take a short exit slip quiz during the last 10 minutes of class on this lab. You should feel comfortable explaining the vocabulary and the basics of the lab.


More in-depth statistics to come... As they learn more in class and get to the point where they can be of some use to us in those regards. Maybe we can help @brewtownandy and @anonymouseagle out a little bit!