Acrobat A Printable version of this lesson is available in PDF format. This requires a free plug-in, Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can find out if you need it by clicking on the PDF link. There are many payoffs for modeling in the study of school mathematics.
Students maintain and improve language skills.
The leaky faucet problem deals with data in a context that has meaning for students. It relates to the issue of resource depletion worldwide. When students interpret data linked to real world situations, concepts related to variables are easier to grasp and retain. The rate of dripping water provided a concrete meaning for slope and the students in the video classroom could easily see that a constant rate produced a linear graph. The students understood that the line of best fit provided an equation for the relationship.