Solving System of Equations

Dayna Hinchcliff Long Objective: Given a real-life problem, the student determines how, if it all, a solution to that problem is facilitated by setting up and solving for a system of linear equations. (Application) Lesson Plan: Initial Problem Confrontation and Analysis: Confront students with the following pair of problems: (1)Your Final Exam consists of 30 questions worth a total of 100 points. The exam contains multiple choice questions worth 10 points each and True/False Questions worth 2 points each. How many multiple choice questions will be on your final exam? (2)Your purchase at a grocery store comes to a total of $7.25. You have exactly 90 coins consisting of only pennies, nickels, and quarters and you wish to get rid of all of your coins. How many pennies, nickels, and quarters would you need to have that would give you exactly $7.25 with exactly 90 coins? Engage students in a deductive question-discussion session in which students describe how they would go about solving each problem. After they discuss problem (1), go ahead and solve the problem as a class using any method. The answer should be 25 multiple choice questions. Lead the students to understand why the content given in question (2) does not allow you to solve it using a system of linear equations.( There are only two equations with three unknowns.) Subsequent Problem Confrontation and Analysis: Confront students with the following problems: (1)You decide to make a scrapbook of your recent vacation to Disney World and Sea World. If your scrapbook contains 20 pages and you have already used up 9 of those, how pages do you have left in the scrapbook for your Disney and Sea World pictures? (2)The Utah Jazz scored a total of 110 points in a basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks last week. The Jazz scored 41 two-point and three-points shots. How many two and three-point shots did the Jazz make? (3)You have volunteered to make cookies for a Boy Scout fundraiser on Saturday. The committee informed you that you must make a total of 50 cookies. They also informed you that 20% of them must be chocolate chip, 35% must be peanut butter, and 45% must be snicker doodle. How many of each cookie must you make to reach exactly 50 cookies? Engage students in another deductive question-answer session in which students describe how they would, if at all, go about solving each problem. Students should conclude that (1) and (2) are solvable, thought (1) does not need a system of equations, and that (3) does not provide enough information for it to be solved.

If students seem confident in distinguishing between problems in which system of equations can and cannot be used, move on to the next portion of the lesson plan. If students are still struggling, engage them in problems 89-91 on page 132 of the textbook. Rule Articulation: Engage students in a discussion where they come up with their own rules regarding when and if they should solve problems using systems of linear equations. Mold the discussion until the class has come up with a list that everyone agrees on. Extension into Subsequent Lessons: Students will continue to practice todays objective in subsequent lessons. One such example includes the next few lesson plans when the students learn about matrices. They will use what they learned today to help them understand when equations have one, many, or no solutions when in matrix form. Miniexperiment: Prompt: You are reading Sports Illustrated, and come across the portion where subscribers can write-in and ask questions that other subscribers can answer in the next issue of the magazine. One such question states: My high school soccer team is currently ranked second in the state. Our team scores an average of 5 goals per game and the number one team in the state, the Bobcats, scores an average of 6 goals per game. How many goals will each team score by the end of the season if they each make it to the championship game, which will each be their 21 game? Write a 1-2 paragraph response to this letter explaining how the author can solve the question. Make sure to give explicit instructions and provide him/her with an answer. Observers Rubric: Maximum score is 8 points distributed according to the following criteria: +2 for a response that gives clear, logical steps to the author +2 for demonstrating an understanding of how to solve this problem using linear equations +2 for obtaining the answer as 105 and 126 goals +2 for including nothing extraneous or erroneous