options: Statistics & Probability: students learn to analyze and produce data distributions, and build understanding of univariate and bivariate data. They learn to interpret data, make statistical inferences, justify conclusions, understand rules of probability, and use probability to make decisions.

Number Systems and Quantity: students learn to understand the complex number system and reason quantitatively.

Functions: students learn to define, use, and evaluate functions to model relationships between quantities.

Measurement & Data: students learn to work with data and measure attributes such as time, money, length, area, and volume. They may learn to compare measurements to operations and convert between different units of measure.

Number & Operations - Fractions: students learn to understand fractions as numbers and may work with them using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Number & Operations in Base Ten: students learn to work with the base-ten system and build place value understanding.

Ratios & Proportional Relationships: students learn to recognize, describe, represent, and reason with ratios, rates, proportional relationships, and percent.

Counting & Cardinality: students learn to know number names and the count sequence, count to tell the number of objects, and compare numbers.

Operations & Algebra: students learn to solve problems using algebraic thinking and operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They may learn to identify and explain arithmetic patterns, evaluate or manipulate numerical expressions, and reason with equations and inequalities.

Geometry: students learn to classify geometric figures by their properties, and understand and compare the relationships between them. Students develop and use formulas to compute lengths, areas, and volumes, and they use transformations to generate new shapes and compare existing ones. Geometry can be studied with and without coordinates.

Modeling: students learn to choose and use appropriate mathematics and statistics to analyze real-world empirical situations, improve decisions, and report on their conclusions and the reasoning behind them.
problem_activity: Warm-up
The purpose of this warm-up is for students to reason about powers of positive and negative numbers. While some students may find the numeric value of each expression to make a comparison, it is not always necessary. Encourage students to reason about the meaning of the integers, bases, and exponents rather than finding the numeric value of each expression.
Launch
Display one problem at a time. Give students up to 1 minute of quiet think time per problem and tell them to give a signal when they have an answer and a strategy. Follow with a whole-class discussion.
There may be some confusion about how negative numbers interact with exponents. Tell students that exponents work the same way for both positive and negative bases. In other words,
\((\text- 3)^2 = \text- 3 \boldcdot \text- 3\)
.
Students may also struggle to interpret the notation difference between two expressions such as
\((\text- 4)^2\)
and
\(\text- 4^2\)
. Tell students that the interpretation of the first expression is
\((\text- 4)^2 = \text- 4 \boldcdot \text- 4\)
and the interpretation of the second expression is
\(\text- 4^2 = \text- 1 \boldcdot 4 \boldcdot 4\)
.
Student Facing
Is each statement true or false? Be prepared to explain your reasoning.
\(3^5 < 4^6\)
\(\left(\text- 3\right)^2 < 3^2\)
\(\left(\text- 3\right)^3 = 3^3\)
\(\left( \text- 5 \right) ^2 > \text- 5^2\)
Student Response
Teachers with a valid work email address can
click here to register or sign in
for free access to Student Response.
Activity Synthesis
Poll students on their response for each problem. Record and display their responses for all to see. If all students agree, ask 1 or 2 students to share their reasoning. If there is disagreement, ask students to share their reasoning until an agreement is reached. After the final problem, ask students if the same strategies would have worked if all of the bases were 10 to highlight the idea that powers with a base of 10 behave the same as those with bases other than 10.
To involve more students in the conversation, consider asking:
“Do you agree or disagree? Why?”
“Who can restate ___’s reasoning in a different way?”
“Does anyone want to add on to _____’s reasoning?”


correct_option_index: 8