Understanding distance, speed, and time relationships using simulation software
http://www.nctm.org/standards/content.aspx?id=25037
A lesson plan for grades 4–5 Mathematics
This e-example includes a software simulation of two runners along a track. Students can control the speeds and starting points of the runners, watch the race, and examine a graph of the time-versus-distance relationship. The computer simulation uses a context familiar to students, and the technology allows them to analyze the relationships more deeply because of the ease of manipulating the environment and observing the changes that occur. Activities like these can help students in the upper elementary grades understand ideas about functions and about representing change over time.
E-Math Investigations are selected e-examples from the electronic version of the Principles and Standards of School Mathematics (PSSM). The e-examples are part of the electronic version of the PSSM document. Given their interactive nature and focused discussion tied to the PSSM document, the e-examples are natural companions to the i-Math investigations.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
Mathematics (2004)
Grade 4
- Goal 5: Algebra - The learner will demonstrate an understanding of mathematical relationships.
- Objective 5.01: Identify, describe, and generalize relationships in which:
- Quantities change proportionally.
- Change in one quantity relates to change in a second quantity.
- Objective 5.03: Verify mathematical relationships using:
- Models, words, and numbers.
- Order of operations and the identity, commutative, associative, and distributive properties.
- Objective 5.01: Identify, describe, and generalize relationships in which:
Grade 5
- Goal 5: Algebra - The learner will demonstrate an understanding of patterns, relationships, and elementary algebraic representation.
- Objective 5.03: Identify, describe, and analyze situations with constant or varying rates of change.
