Lesson 5
Distance To and Distance From
These materials, when encountered before Algebra 1, Unit 6, Lesson 5 support success in that lesson.
Lesson Narrative
In the associated Algebra 1 lesson, students analyze two different perspectives of an object falling due to gravity. One expresses how far the object has fallen as a function of time, and the other represents the height of the object as a function of time. To prepare students to handle this aspect of the lesson, this extra support lesson focuses on representing linear relationships from two different perspectives. In order to do that, they are presented with a situation like "a person is walking from home to a park at a speed of 280 feet per minute," and decide how far they are from home each minute, how far they are from the park each minute, and write an expression for each of these distances in terms of time \(t\). When students determine the output for several numerical inputs and then write an expression for a variable input, they are expressing regularity in repeated reasoning (MP8).
Additionally, in the Algebra 1 lesson, it will be helpful if students are able to recognize some perfect squares. The practice activity in this lesson gives students an opportunity to generate some squares and square roots, so that these values are more recognizable.
Learning Goals
Teacher Facing
- Practice evaluating an expression for a given value of a variable.
- Represent the same relationships using different choices of variables, and hence, different equations.
Student Facing
- Let’s represent the same situation in different ways.