Completed

Mold Growth and Scatterplots

Objective: Students will use mold growth to create a scatterplot.
Pacing:

60 minutes
Targeted Resources

1. Do Now (10 minutes)

What have you seen so far in your "Moldy Oldies" experiments? Have your expectations changed since the beginning of this experiment last week?

2. Teach: Lesson Content (30 minutes)

Observations Students will make observations of their experiments on their IDD worksheets. They will note any growth that has occurred from last observation to now and calculate the percent change using the grid boxes on their graph paper and the percent change formula. Drawing Scatterplots Once the observations have been taken, recap as a class about dependent and independent variables. Ask: How is this normally displayed on a set of axes? Recap on which variable is the dependent and independent and why. Have students work in groups to begin their scatterplots. Time (independent) should be placed on the x-axis and Growth Percentage (dependent) should be placed on the y-axis. Ask: What would be a good scale for this scatterplot? Students will discuss, in their groups, what their scale should be. Once they have determined these factors, allow students to begin sketching the axes for their scatterplots.

Targeted Resources

3. Differentiation (10 minutes)

Below Level Make sure students are using an appropriate scale for their scatterplots and that they have the correct variables labeled on each axis. Remind them that they must have arrows at the end of each of the axes. Advanced Students Ask: Often we draw xy axes with four quadrants. Would it make sense to draw your scatterplot using four quadrants? Why or why not? What would be appropriate for this scatterplot?

Targeted Resources

4. Closure (10 minutes)

1) If you noticed 2 grid boxes covered with mold on Monday, and 5 boxes covered on Thursday, what is the percent change? Show all work. 2) How is mold beginning to grow on your projects? How fast do you predict it will grow from this point on? What factors will affect this growth?

Targeted Resources