Unit 6, Lesson 10
Fossils and Flags (Optional)
Integrated Math 1
10.1
Activity
Optional
A Fossil Puzzle
Materials
To Gather
Rulers
Activity Narrative
The mathematical purpose of this activity is for students to collect, summarize, interpret, and draw conclusions from bivariate data using scatter plots, best-fit lines, residuals and correlation coefficients. Students measure the approximate lengths of the humerus bone and heights of their classmates to collect data and create a linear model. The model is then used to approximate the height of an ancient human based on the length of a found humerus bone.
Making graphing technology available gives students an opportunity to choose appropriate tools strategically (MP5). By collecting their own data and using a best-fit line to find additional information, students are modeling with mathematics (MP4).
Launch
Arrange students in groups of 2 to 4. Present the task to students, and ask them to brainstorm different ways that they could answer the question. After 2 minutes of quiet think time, ask students to share their ideas with the class. The remaining time should be used by students to collect, analyze, summarize, and interpret the data.
MLR5 Co-Craft Questions. Keep books or devices closed. Display only the first sentence of this problem (“An anthropologist finds a fossilized humerus bone of an ancient human ancestor.”), without revealing the task, and ask students to write down possible mathematical questions that could be asked about the situation. Invite students to compare their questions before revealing the task. Ask, “What do these questions have in common? How are they different?” Reveal the intended questions for this task, and invite additional connections.
Advances: Reading, Writing
Advances: Reading, Writing
Activity
NoneAn anthropologist finds a fossilized humerus bone of an ancient human ancestor. The humerus is an arm bone running from the shoulder to the elbow. It is 24 centimeters in length. Use data from your classmates to estimate the height of this ancient human.
Student Response
Activity Synthesis
The purpose of this discussion is for students to communicate how they used mathematics to justify their findings.
Ask students:
- “How confident are you in your answer? What information helped you determine your confidence?” (Not very confident. Since the correlation coefficient is near 0.6, there is only a moderate relationship between height and humerus length. Additionally, this ancient human ancestor may have a different anatomy—for example, apes tend to have proportionally longer arms than humans do.)
- “How did you use mathematics to estimate the height of the ancient human?” (First, I collected data on the height and the approximate length of the humerus of my classmates. I then made a scatter plot to determine whether or not a linear model was appropriate and then computed a line of best fit. I substituted 24 centimeters into my line of best fit and obtained my answer.)
- “Do you think that the way you measured the humerus of your classmates impacted your choice of linear model? Explain your reasoning.” (Yes, I think that I probably overestimated the bone length because I was measuring from the outside and not the inside. I think that my model likely overestimates height.)
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