Square Roots and Radicals

It's been awhile since I have posted on this blog.  Well, I'm back and ready to get on with the business of learning and talking about mathematics,  The purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for communication between my students, their teacher, and their classmates.  Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments as you work to make sense of the mathematical concepts we are studying in class.

 My eighth grade students will be taking their first post test on Thursday.  The standards on the post test deal with probability and exponents.  I have found the following radicals practice activity that may help you prepare for the post test.  We are currently exploring the Pythagorean Theorem.  Here is a Pythagorean Theorem activity for you to try if you are feeling confident with this concept.  I encourage all of my eighth grade students to try these activities and leave a comment to let me (and your classmates) know how you did.

Solving Systems of Equations

We have begun a study of systems of equations and inequalities.  Here is an activity on solving systems of equations by elimination and/or substitution.  Try this activity and leave a comment telling me how well you did.

Haven't heard much from some of you lately.  I love comments.

Graphing Equations Using Slope and Y-Intercept

We have spent a great deal of time discussing slope and y-intercept.  In coming days, we will be discussing how these can be applied in real life.  In the meantime, I have found an activity to provide practice in using slope and y-intercept to graph a line.  Try this activity and let me know what you think.  I would also welcome comments about what you have learned during our discussions of slope so far.

Moving Straight Ahead

I hope everyone has enjoyed the unexpected vacation and is ready to come back to school, rollup their sleeves, and get to work.  Our next unit is called Slippery Slope.  In our discussion for this unit we will cover how to find the slope and y-intercept of linear functions.  I have found this neat game on slope and y-intercept.  I can get the answers correct but my shooting percentage is TERRIBLE.  I scored only 3 baskets even though I got all 10 problems correct.  After we have finished our discussion of slope and y-intercept, I would like for you to try this game and leave a comment to let me know how many you got correct and your scoring percentage.

Functions and Relations

We have discussed in class how to tell if a relation is a function.  We have used one-to-one mapping as well as ordered pairs to show relations. (REmember one person does not usually live in two houses, but more than one person can live in the same house.)  When you have a visual representation of a function, you can use the "vertical-line test".  Here is a practice activity on relations and functions.  Try it and leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

Linear Relationships

We are currently working with linear relationships represented by arithmetic sequences.  We have generated closed and recursive formulas for sequences as well as using these formulas to generate sequences.  Here is a neat game to provide practice in identifying linear relationships.  Play the game and leave a comment letting me know what you think.

Solving Inequalities

Basic inequalities are solved in the same manner as equations.  Isolate the variable on the left.  The inequality sign will replace the equal sign.  Remember that when multiplying or dividing both sides by a negative number, the inequality sign is reversed.  When graphing the solution set on a number line - an open circle means that the number at that point is not included in the solution set.  A closed circle means that the number at that point is included in the solution set.  This is represented by the ≤   or    ≥  signs.   The > and < represent open circles.  Here is a Brainpop video about graphing inequalities.  Take a graded quiz after viewing the video.  Print out your results and turn them in to me for extra credit.  Again you may need to sign up for a free trial.