'Link pieces of existing knowledge together to understand how a quadratic equation is represented graphically'

How much information do you need about a quadratic function before you can sketch it? How do you find the intercepts from the equation? Surprisingly, the answers to these questions can usually be pieced together from existing knowledge. Start by matching the four bits of information that go with each sketch, then repeat the exercise but with less and less information each time! Eventually we see that the quadratic alone often gives you all the information you need! This activity aims to reinforce the links between all the features of a quadratic function. The function itself, the graph, the intercepts/roots, and sometimes the factorised form! Inherent in the activity is the notion that the skill required here is logical deduction and not necessarily the learning of new ideas.

 

Below is a quick screencast to show the activity in action

 

Resources

There are three parts to this activity,

There are also some teachers notes  Quadratic Links TN

 

Gallery

Here are a few photos of the activity in action.

 

Description

Here is a brief outline of the task.

There are three stages to this activity

  • Quadratic Links 1 - cut out the pieces of information, four bits of information go with each graph. The cards should be put into groups of 5 accordingly.
  • Quadratic Links 2 - repeat the exercise only this time there are some blanks to fill in along the way.
  • Quadratic Links 3 - repeating the exercise with yet more blanks.
  • Students try to reach a general conclusion about how the features of a quadratic graph can be detrmined from the equation alone.

 

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