Felipe Chavez

Professor Tuner
MTH 3820
October 21th, 2019
Trigonometry Around You!

1. Course and unit being taught

a. For my activity, the course that is being taught is Algebra II and the unit is
trigonometry.
2. Main target(s)/standard(s) that students are learning/practicing
a. CC.9-12.G.SRT.7 Define trigonometric ratios and solve problems involving right
triangles. Explain and use the relationship between the sine and cosine of
complementary angles.
b. CC.9-12.G.SRT.8 Define trigonometric ratios and solve problems involving right
triangles. Use trigonometric ratios and the Pythagorean Theorem to solve right
triangles in applied problems
3. Main goal(s) for this activity
a. Collaboration
i. This activity creates collaboration within students because this activity
will have to be created as a group of four. Students will have to brainstorm
their own problems to solve. As a group, students will have to discover the
solution to their problems.
b. Practice current content while also encourage complex thinking
i. Even though students will be exposed to solving the hypotenuse and
inverse trigonometry functions in the classroom, this activity will allow
students to apply their knowledge to real-life examples.
c. Encourage physical movement
i. This activity will not only allow students to move around the classroom,
but it will also allow them to move around the hallway. Giving students
the ability to move around keeps the students engaged.
d. Differentiate for student readiness level
i. This activity will be more individualized since students will be given the
option to select the types of problems to solve. The main objective in this
activity is to assess students on their ability to use trigonometry to solve
real-world application of varying complexities. Also, for those students
that are more advanced, I have given the option to complete two more
additional problems for extra credit.
e. Incorporate appropriate technology
i. Students will be allowed to use the technology called Image J to help
students solve the problems. This technology allows students to take a
picture of an item and precisely measure the height of the object given a
scale. Knowing the height and distance of objects will be essential to
allowing students to discover a solution.
f. Sparking students’ interest
i. This activity will allow students to select the problems that they will like
to select. By allowing students to do this, they are able to select problems
Felipe Chavez

that they find more interesting. This will allow students to stay engaged in
the activity.
Felipe Chavez

Trig Around YOU!

Introduction:

You may be wondering why even study trigonometry or even mathematics in general. I’ll
tell you why you should. The reason is that MATH IS ALL AROUND YOU! If you look all
around you, we can observe that this is a fact. Not only is it around you, but it is also found in a
wide range of real-life applications.

Activity:

For this activity, your group’s task is to analyze the classroom and/or hallway for right
triangles in order to measure its hypotenuse and the measure of a non-right angle. You will
consist of groups of four that I will randomly select. Also, for this activity, you will have to
select three ways in which right triangles appear in the classroom. You will have to include
images of these three problems and upload the to a google docs. Also, you must use Image J
technology in at least once for this activity. This will allow you to be precise in your calculation
(I will go over how to use this calculation in class.)

You will work on this activity as a group, but you must turn in your OWN activity
handout.

This project will be two weeks from today. I will give you this week to work on this
project in class.

Extra Credit:

For extra credit, instead of discovering the solutions to 3 problems, you and your group
must discover the solution to 5 problems using Image J. If done correctly, you and your group
will receive 20 extra points. (Please have your group talk to me if you would like to select this
option.)

Remember to be as creative as you can and,

most importantly, HAVE FUN!
Felipe Chavez

Activity Handout
1. For each problem, demonstrate your work to solve for the missing angle and the
hypotenuse of each right triangle:

a. Problem 1

b. Problem 2

c. Problem 3
Felipe Chavez

2. For each question below, respond with 4-5 complete sentences:

a. What went well in your project?

b. What did not go so well?

c. What were some mistakes that occurred? What did you and your group do to
resolve these issues? If no mistakes occurred, what could have potentially gone
wrong in your project?
Felipe Chavez

d. What did you learn from this activity? What are the main take-aways from this
activity?