Time required: ?
Description: Students create "bungee" cords from rubber bands, and then collect their own data to create a linear model.

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Created by: Paul Young, San Diego City College
Type of activity: hands on activity
Course level: Beginning Algebra
Topic: Linear Modeling
Materials: 1 tape measure (metric compatible) per group
Time required: 20+ minutes
Description: The main purpose of this lab is to explore the proportionality of forearm length and height. The students will record their heights and forearm lengths, first plotting on a table. Each group will plot their 12 points on the given graph paper, and then draw a “best-fit-line”. Each group will be asked to give the linear equation—in both slope-intercept form as well as standard form.
Implementation notes (follow up/discussion questions, pedagogical recommendations, etc.): As the last question on the student write-up, each group will be asked to measure the length of the instructor’s forearm. Using this information, they will have to come up with a height. Make sure each group measures your arm, as oppose to one student making the measurement for the whole class.

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Created by: by Alan Bass and Terrie Teegarden, San Diego Mesa College
Type of activity: lecture, small group problem solving (paper and pencil)
Course level: Beginning Algebra
Topic: Linear Modeling
Materials: none
Time required: 30 to 40 minutes
Description: In this activity students will explore levels of Carbon Dioxide ( C02) in the atmosphere over time. There is concern that levels of C02 are rising; and finding a good mathematical model for CO2 levels is an important part of determining if this is attributable to human technology. Students draw a scatter plot, choose two points to create a linear model for the data, then use the model to make predictions.
Implementation notes (follow up/discussion questions, pedagogical recommendations, etc.):

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Link Submitted by: Terrie Nichols, Cuyamaca College
Type of activity: lecture, small group problem solving (paper and pencil)
Course level: Beginning Algebra
Topic: Linear Modeling
Materials: Graphing Calculator
Time required:
Description: Yellowstone National Park contains over half of the world’s geysers. A geyser is a hot spring with intermittent bursts of water or steam. Old Faithful is the most famous geyser at Yellowstone. It erupts for between 1.5 and 5 minutes at heights reaching more than 180 feet, and visitors need wait only 0.5 to 2 hours to see an eruption. Through extensive observation and data gathering, it was discovered that the interval between eruptions of Old Faithful depends on the duration or length of the eruption.
Why you chose to use the activity:
How do you use the activity: (Did you make any modifications to the activity? Did you create any follow up/discussion questions, have any pedagogical recommendations, etc., that are not found on the web page?) The attached document contains instructions not specific to a given graphing calculator.
Related activities: (Is this activity related to another activity found here or on a different site?)
Link to activity: http://math.palomar.edu/wmetzger/COURSES/COLALG/Lab02Alg.pdf

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Linear Modeling