I Remember
How much can you trust your memory?
Students will
- Construct a model for how memory loses its fidelity as the number of remembrances increases
- Determine when a memory becomes semi-reliable or unreliable based on a model of its fidelity
- Write equations and draw graphs for linear and exponential models of a graphs fidelity
- Construct a model for the fidelity of memory for someone with superior autobiographical memory, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of our ability to forget
Before you begin
Students should be able to write equations for and graph linear and exponential functions. They should also be able to interpret intersections between graphs within a context, and should be able to find the approximate locations of intersections (either algebraically or with technology).Common Core Standards
Content Standards
Mathematical Practices
Downloads
Shoutouts
Radiolab, Marilu Henner
Related Lessons
Sofa Away From Me
How far away from the TV should you sit? Students use right triangle trigonometry and a rational function to explore the percent of your visual field that is occupied by the area of a television.
Pyramid of Sleaza
How can you make money in a pyramid scheme? Students learn about how pyramid schemes work (and how they fail), and use geometric sequences to model the exponential growth of a pyramid scheme over time.
Pandemic
Why hasn't everyone already died of a contagion? And, if vampires exist, shouldn't we all be sucking blood by now? Students model the exponential growth of a contagion and use logarithms and finite geometric series to determine the time needed for a disease to infect the entire population. They'll also informally prove that vampires can't be real.
Loan Ranger
How much do you really pay when you use a credit card? Students develop an exponential growth model to determine how much an item really ends up costing when purchased on credit.
Going Once, Going Twice
How much should you bid in an auction? Students use probability, expected value, and polynomial functions to develop a profit-maximizing bidding strategy.
XBOX Xponential
How have video game console speeds changed over time? Students write an exponential function based on the Atari 2600 and Moore's Law, and see whether the model was correct for subsequent video game consoles.
iPod dPreciation
How has the iPod depreciated over time? Students compare linear and exponential decay, as well as explore how various products have depreciated and what might account for those differences.
Pounding Headache
How much Tylenol can you safely take? Students use exponential functions and logarithms to explore the risks of acetaminophen toxicity, and discuss what they think drug manufacturers should do to make sure people use their products safely.
Green Acres
How has the urban population changed over time, and will we all eventually live in cities? Students use recursive rules along with linear and exponential models to explore how America's urban areas have been growing over the last 200 years.
Driving Question
When should NFL teams go for it on fourth down? Students use quadratic functions to develop a model of expected points. They then apply this model to determine when teams should punt the ball, and more importantly, when they shouldn’t.
Financial Aid
How much more do graduates earn, and is college worth the cost? Students use systems of linear equations to compare different educational options.
Icy Hot (HS)
How have temperatures changed around the world? Students use trigonometric functions to model annual temperature changes at different locations around the globe and explore how the climate has changed in various cities over time.
The Sound of Silence
How do noise-canceling headphones work? In this lesson, students use transformations of trigonometric functions to explore how sound waves can interfere with one another, and how noise-canceling headphones use incoming sounds to figure out how to produce that sweet, sweet silence.
Prescripted
How should pharmaceutical companies decide what to develop? In this lesson, students use linear and quadratic functions to explore how much pharmaceutical companies expect to make from different drugs, and discuss ways to incentivize companies to develop medications that are more valuable to society.
Wage War
How much should companies pay their employees? Students graph and solve systems of linear equations in order to examine the effects of wage levels on labor and consumer markets, and they discuss the possible pros and cons of increasing the minimum wage.
