Hot Wheels: Linear Equation

Hot Wheels: Linear Equation Teacher Notes and Resources

Introduction: Hot wheels cars and tracks, a source of amusement for many as children, are used in this module to focus on the y-intercept in linear equations. By launching cars with different launcher settings, students collect and graph distance time data. The average speed of each car is reflected in the slope of the graphed line. Using linear equations and graphs, students can determine how much of a head start to give a slower car so it can win a race.

Audience: Algebra I students

Prerequisite Student Skills: - Basic arithmetic skills

Time Frame: - Pre-lab takes one class session - Lab takes one class session - Post-lab (contest) takes one class session

Recommended Equipment: - Poster size Post-it® graph paper (optional) - Different colored markers - Measuring tape (1 per group) or meter sticks (2 to 3 per group) - Stopwatches (1 or 2 per group) - 4 to 6 Hot Wheels® track sets with rubber band launcher (such as Ferrari Test Trax or Croc Crunch) - Extra track pieces (8 per group)

Objectives: This activity covers the following TEKS: §111.32 (a) Basic understandings. Including: a.1 (b) Foundations for functions: knowledge and skills and performance descriptions. Including: b.1.B, b.1.D, b.2.C, (c) Linear functions: knowledge and skills and performance descriptions. Including: c.2.A, c.2.B, c.2.C, c.2.F

Upon completion of this activity, students will be able to: 1. Create graphs and linear equations based on data collected. 2. Use graphs and linear equations to determine the y-intercept (b), distance (y), or time (x) for given situations based on data for two cars. 3. Use graphs and linear equations to construct problems to challenge other teams.

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© 2004 The University of Texas at Austin and the GE Foundation Textbook Alignment: Aligned with Prentice-Hall Algebra I: Tools for a Changing World, 1998: Chapter 2, sections 4 and Chapter 5, sections 1, 4, 5 and 8

Pre-lab: The teacher-led pre-lab introduces students to the Hot Wheels launcher and how it works. By collecting and graphing data, you can emphasize the importance of the scale of graphs. The pre-lab ends with a discussion about slope and linear equations. Documents in this component are: - Pre-lab student handout - Pre-lab teacher notes

Lab: For the lab, students work in groups for the initial data collection. The groups launch Hot Wheels cars with different launcher settings. After graphing the data, the whole class gets back together for a teacher-led discussion in which you compare the graphed speeds of the various cars. The discussion leads to the question of how to make a slower car win a race. The notion of giving a car a head start is related to changing the y-intercept (b) in the linear equation. Documents in this component are: - Lab student handout - Lab teacher notes

Post-Lab: The post-lab is a game in which teams pose problems to challenge other teams. The teams are first given some time to create challenge problems based on the data from the lab activity. Then the teams pose challenges to other teams, work through the math to make predictions, and test their predictions with the Hot Wheels cars. Documents in this component are: - Post-Lab student handout - Post-Lab teacher notes - Extra Challenge Worksheet

Assessment: The Question Bank gives you flexibility in creating assessment instruments (quiz, test, review, warm up, homework etc.) to fit your classroom objectives and priorities. The Question Bank is available at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/aim/questionBank. Click “Help” for instructions on using the Question Bank.

Additional suggestions:  All the teacher notes use the distance of 15 feet. This is just for example purposes. Depending on the space available, you can have students set up as much track as you want. Just remember that each group needs to set up the same amount of track.

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