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Arrange students in groups of 2. Display the 2 graphs for all to see. Tell students the graphs represent two situations that they have seen in earlier activities. Ask students to think of at least one thing they notice and at least one thing they wonder about. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time, and then 1 minute to discuss with their partner the things that they notice and wonder about, before moving on to the task.
Here are two graphs that represent situations you have seen in earlier activities.
The first graph represents , which describes the relationship between gallons of water in a tank and time in minutes.
The second graph represents . It describes the relationship between pounds of almonds and figs and the dollar amount Clare spent on them.
Suppose a classmate says, “I am not sure that the graph represents because I don’t see the 6, 9, or 75 on the graph.” How would you show your classmate that the graph indeed represents this equation?
Focus the discussion on students' explanations for the last question. If no one mentions that can be rearranged into an equivalent equation, , point this out. (Demonstrate the rearrangement process, if needed.)
Ask students if we can now see the and the on the graph and if so, where they are visible. To help students connect these values back to the quantities in the situation, ask what each value tells us about almonds and figs. Make sure students see that the tells us that if Clare bought no almonds, she can buy pounds of figs. For every pound of almonds she buys, she can buy less figs— pound less, to be exact.
Keep students in groups of 2. Consider asking students to take turns finding a match and explaining their strategy to their partner.
Select 2–3 students who use strategies such as those described in the Activity Narrative, and ask them to share later. Aim to elicit both key mathematical ideas and a variety of student contributions, especially from students who haven't shared recently.
Match each of the equations with the slope and -intercept of its graph.
A: ,
B: ,
C: ,
D: ,
E: ,
Students will likely use the strategy of rewriting the equations in slope-intercept form. Common mistakes here include isolating rather than , changing the sign of only one term when dividing by a negative number, and dividing only one of two terms by the coefficient of . (For these last two mistakes, remind students of the work in the Warm-up).
Students who recognize that the slope of a line with equation is and that the -intercept is may also write the wrong signs, or get a ratio reversed. Students who use this strategy are likely shortcutting the process of isolating . Asking them to isolate for one equation can help them to identify errors.
Invite previously selected students to share their strategies. Sequence the discussion of the strategies by the order listed in the Activity Narrative. If possible, record and display their work for all to see.
Connect the different responses to the learning goals, by asking questions such as:
Highlight that it is helpful and efficient to use the structure of an equation to get insights about the properties of its graph. At this stage, it is not essential that students recognize that the slope of an equation of the form is and that it crosses the -axis at . Students should, however, recognize that solving for involves a predictable process and that the resulting equation makes the slope and -intercept visible.