Education Technology

Science: Walk the Line

by Texas Instruments

Overview

In this activity, students' will create constant-speed motion plots and develop linear equations to describe them mathematically.

Key Steps

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    Distribute the pages to your class.

    Follow the Activity procedures:

  • Place the CBR on a table and stand 0.5 m away from it
  • Walk away from the CBR at a slow and steady pace
  • Examine the distance versus time graph
  • Record the coordinates and calculate the slope and the starting y- intercept
  • Perform a linear regression and compare the slope and the intercept values
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    Students create a distance-time graph made by walking at a constant rate in order to find the mathematical equation that duplicates the plot.

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    Students use the guess-and-test method to find the equation of the line that matches their data.

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    Students use linear regression to gauge the accuracy of their calculations of the slope using the coordinates of two data points.