Lesson 1: Radical Functions and Transformations

 

Focus

 

Police officers use mathematics to analyze car accident scenes. Investigators are able to determine what likely happened without even seeing the actual accident. To determine the vehicle’s speed before the collision, investigators may use the formula where S is the speed of the vehicle, L is the length of the skid marks, and f is the coefficient of friction (determined by the road surface). By looking at the formula, can you describe the relationship between speed and the length of skid marks? Would a graph of this function help you to more easily see the relationship?

 

In Lesson 1 you will look at graphing functions that include radical signs.

Lesson Outcomes

 

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to

• sketch the graph of radical functions
• state the domain and range of radical functions
• apply transformations to radical functions

Lesson Questions

 

You will investigate the following questions:

• How can radical functions be graphed?
• How are graphs of radical functions used to analyze real-life situations?

Assessment

 

Your assessment may be based on a combination of the following tasks:

• completion of the Lesson 1 Assignment (Download the Lesson 1 Assignment and save it in your course folder now.)
• course folder submissions from Try This and Share activities
• additions to Glossary Terms and Formula Sheet
• work under Project Connection

Self-Check activities are for your own use. You can compare your answers to suggested answers to see if you are on track. If you have difficulty with concepts or calculations, contact your teacher.

 

Remember that the questions and activities you will encounter provide you with the practice and feedback you need to successfully complete this course. You should complete all questions and place your responses in your course folder. Your teacher may wish to view your work to check on your progress and to see if you need help.

 

Time

 

Each lesson in Mathematics 30-1 Learn EveryWare is designed to be completed in approximately two hours. You may find that you require more or less time to complete individual lessons. It is important that you progress at your own pace, based on your individual learning requirements.

 

This time estimation does not include time required to complete Going Beyond activities or the Module Project.

 

Materials and Equipment

• graph paper