Periodic Change Project

Periodic Change Project

Winter is upon us and spring seems soooo… far off. Now is a great time to start thinking of warmer vacation spots. If weather were the only thing that affected where you vacationed, where would you go? This project allows you to choose a great vacation spot by learning something about its weather and a little about periodic change.

Step 1: Research a place you’d like to visit. Find out about the average temperatures and average precipitation your vacation spot enjoys throughout the year. Record this data in a table.

Step 2: Use what you know about the general sinusoidal functions to write an equation to model each data set. One equation should use sine the other should use cosine. Discuss what each number you use in your equation does to the graph.

Step 3: Graph each data set with one period of each function on separate graphs. Be sure to label and scale axes.

Step 4: Write a paragraph explaining when the best time to visit your location would be. Cite rationale from your graphs, data tables, and/or functions.

Step 5: Put all of this together in an attractive brochure that will attract visitors to your vacation destination.

Overall Presentation / Paragraph / Temperature graph / Precipitation graph / Cos equation / Sin equation / Data table / Total grade =
______
28
Brochure is organized, neat, concise, and clearly presents the vacation spot as an attractive place to visit / Clearly and accurately predicts “best” time to visit; detailed use of mathematical concepts/terminology used; proper grammar throughout / Graph shows data in table and function; axes are labeled and scaled appropriately; clearly understands material / Graph shows data in table and function; axes are labeled and scaled appropriately; clearly understands material / Cos equation accurately matches data in table as closely as possible; “a, b, c, d” properly chosen; ; discussion of what “a,b,c,d” do to graph shows student clearly understands material / Sin equation accurately matches data in table as closely as possible; “a, b, c, d” properly chosen; discussion of what “a,b,c,d” do to graph shows student clearly understands material / Complete data table clearly labeled showing daylight hours and average high temperature for a vacation site for one year; reference provided; clearly understands material / 4
Shows complete understanding of the math concepts and principles involved
Brochure is generally organized, neat, and presents the vacation spot as a place to visit; may have one sloppy section / Predicts “best” time to visit; uses mathematical concepts/terminology; slight grammar mistakes / Missing one attribute of a 4; mostly understands material / Missing one attribute of a 4; mostly understands material / Cos equation matches data in table pretty closely; “a, b, c, d” mostly chosen properly; mostly understands material / Sin equation matches data in table pretty closely; “a, b, c, d” mostly chosen properly with discussion; mostly understands material / Mostly complete data table labeled showing daylight hours and average high temperature for a vacation site for one year; reference provided; mostly understands material / 3
Shows nearly complete understanding of the math concepts involved; minor errors are evident
Brochure presents the vacation spot as an attractive place to visit; may have multiple sloppy sections / Makes a prediction about “best” time to visit; uses some mathematical vocabulary; multiple grammar mistakes / Missing 2 attributes of a 4; somewhat understands material / Missing 2 attributes of a 4; somewhat understands material / Cos equation matches some parts of data in table; “a, b, c, d” may not be correct or discussed; somewhat understands material / Sin equation matches some parts of data in table; “a, b, c, d” may not be correct or discussed; somewhat understands material / Somewhat complete data table labeled showing daylight hours and average high temperature for a vacation site for one year; reference unclear; somewhat understands material / 2
Shows some understanding of the math concepts and principles involved; may contain major errors
Brochure lacks organization or neatness; obvious effort not apparent / Makes a prediction about “best” time to visit; many mistakes; not clear about question / Missing 3 attributes of a 4; may not understand graphs / Missing 3 attributes of a 4; may not understand graphs / Cos equation does not match data in table as closely; “a, b, c, d” improperly chosen; clearly lacks understanding of the material / Sin equation does not match data in table as closely; “a, b, c, d” improperly chosen; clearly lacks understanding of the material / Data table included; reference not provided; may not understand material / 1
Shows limited to no understanding of the mathematical concepts involved; contains major errors

Name:______