Keeping the Meaning in Mathematics: The Craft of Word Problems

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 07.06.12

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Objectives
  2. Analysis
  3. Strategies
  4. Classroom Activities
  5. Resources
  6. Materials for Classroom Use
  7. Appendix A - Implementing District Standards
  8. Appendix B - Collection of Word Problems

Quadratic Equations in Word Problems Students Can Relate To

Nancy Rudolph

Published September 2007

Tools for this Unit:

Resources

These two books served as general background reading for teaching mathematics. They refer to elementary topics, but the ideas apply to any level.

Lampert, M. (2001). Teaching Problems and the Problems of Teaching. New Haven, CT:

Yale University Press.

Ma, Liping. (1999). Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. Mahwah, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

I used the following list of textbooks to find quadratic word problems related to sports and geometry; however, any math or physics text would serve the same purpose.

American River College, & University of New Orleans. (2004). Intermediate Algebra (9th ed.).

Boston: Pearson Addison-Wesley.

Burger, E. B., Chard, D. J., Hall, E. J., Kennedy, P. A., Leinwand, S. J., Renfro, F. L., et

al. (2007). Algebra 2. Orlando: Holt, Reinhart and Winston.

Dossey, J. A., & Embse, C. B. V. (1996). Secondary Math, An Integrated Approach.

Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Hirsch, C. R., Fey, J. T., Hart, E. W., Schoen, H. L., & Watkins, A. E. (2008). Core-Plus

Mathematics. (2nd ed.). New York: Glencoe/McGraw Hill.

Holliday, et al. (Eds.). (2005). Algebra 2. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Larson, R., Boswell, L, Kanold, T. & Stiff, L. (2004). Algebra 2. Evanston, IL:

McDougal Littell.

Lial, M. L., Hornsby, J., & Schneider, D. (2005). Precalculus. (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson

Addison-Wesley.

Wilson, J. D., & Buffa, A. J. (1997). Physics (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Prentice Hall.

The following list provides additional sources of word problems, including puzzles.

Carroll, L. (1958). Symbolic Logic and Game of Logic. New York: Dover Publications,

Inc.

Gardner, M. (Ed.). (1959). Mathematical Puzzles of Sam Loyd. Mineola, NY: Dover

Publications, Inc.

Kordemsky, B. (1972). The Moscow Puzzles. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Members of NCTM can access calendar problems from Mathematics Teacher magazine and search for ones appropriate for any topic via the website: http://www.nctm.org

An Internet search on "quadratic equations and word problems," "quadratic equations and applications," "quadratic equations and sports," etc. all provide a multitude of sample problems. One such site, Purple Math, always comes up and has 3 pages of examples.

Stapel, Elizabeth. "Quadratic Word Problems: Projectile Motion." Retrieved July 12,

2007 from http://www.purplemath.com/modules/quadprob.htm

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