Students use plastic models of a pyramid and a prism, each having the same height and polygonal base, to investigate the relationship between their volumes. Explore situations involving quantities which cannot be measured directly or conveniently. Students and parents in the McKinley School have been dropping pennies into the very large plastic cylinder in the school lobby in an effort to raise money for new playground equipment. The students are challenged to devise a method to estimate how much money is in the cylinder as a function of the height of the pennies at any given time. Students construct a measuring tool that they can use to find the height of trees, flagpoles, and buildings, using cardboard, graph paper, straws, string, and washers.
Students use proportions to find the height of the flagpole in front of the school.
Convert measurement units from one form to another, and carry out calculations that involve various units of measurement. Students are given a ring and asked to find the height of the person who lost the ring. They measure their own fingers and their heights, plotting the data on a coordinate graph. They use a piece of spaghetti to fit a straight line to the plotted points and make a prediction about the height of the person who owns the ring, based on the data they have collected. Students plan the weird name Olympics by renaming standard events in different measurement units.