Practice Set · Part 1
Math is Ingenuity
Pick up where we left off
Where we left off
Our goal: I can use ratios and models to explain how the Penny Farthing and gear-driven bicycles were ingenious solutions to a real problem, explain why the method works, and use it on a problem I have not seen before.
The big idea: With each pedal rotation, the bicycle travels the length of the perimeter of the wheel. The front wheel is large so the bicycle travels a greater distance with one pedal rotation — and you can say why it is true, and where it would stop being true.
Model to copy — Watch me use a gear ratio
- A later bicycle design uses a chain: the pedal gear has 48 teeth, and the largest rear gear has 32 teeth.
- For each rotation of the 48-tooth pedal gear, the wheel gear also turns 48 teeth.
- The 32-tooth gear needs to turn 32 teeth to make one full rotation, so I find the equivalent ratio: 48 ÷ 32 = 1.5.
- The rear wheel makes 1.5 rotations for each pedal rotation — this gear makes it easier to pedal at slower speeds or go uphill.
Start here
You did these with your group. Now do them on your own — the model above is yours to copy.
- 1
Same stepsFinish what the group started. Use the model above, step for step.
Try it together — then prove it: The smallest rear gear has 12 teeth, and the pedal gear still turns 48 teeth per rotation. One full rotation of the 12-tooth gear takes 12 teeth. 48 ÷ 12 = 4, so the rear wheel makes 4 rotations for each pedal rotation. This gear makes it easier to pedal at faster speeds or go downhill. Now prove it: say why that move had to work at all — not just that it did.Show your work - 2
Warm restartIn the Tower of Hanoi, what is the fewest moves needed for 3 disks?
- A7
- B6
- C8
- D3
How do you know?
- 3
Warm restartLook at the pattern 1, 3, 7, 15. What is the rule?
- ADouble the term and add 1
- BAdd 2 each time
- CDouble the term
- DAdd the two terms before it
How do you know?
- 4
Warm restartWhat is the next term in 1, 3, 7, 15, ___?
- A31
- B23
- C30
- D17
How do you know?
Practice Set · Part 2
Math is Ingenuity
Keep going
You answered these out loud. Now write them.
Answer, then say how you know — the reason is the part that counts.
- 5
Think it throughA future vehicle's design uses a motor gear with 40 teeth turning a wheel gear with 10 teeth. Following the gear-ratio math from this lesson, how many wheel rotations happen for each motor gear rotation?
- A4 rotations
- B0.25 rotations
- C30 rotations
- D400 rotations
Why is that the answer?
- 6
Think it throughWhy does a complete connect answer need to name a specific piece of math instead of just saying 'it uses math'?
- ANaming the actual ratio, measurement, or rate shows the math really shaped the design, not just that math exists somewhere
- BBecause grading requires exactly one number in every answer
- CBecause the word 'math' cannot be used in a written answer
- DBecause a vehicle description never needs any math at all
How do you know? Give a second reason as well.
- 7
Think it throughA student's answer says only, 'My vehicle is powered by a battery.' Which addition would make this a complete connect answer, based on this lesson's check?
- ANaming a specific ratio or rate in the design, like a gear ratio between a motor and a wheel
- BSaying the vehicle looks very futuristic
- CSaying the vehicle is extremely fast
- DRepeating that it is powered by a battery a second time
Explain your thinking. What would have to change for a different choice to be right?
- 8
Back to the modelThe Penny Farthing's pedals are attached directly to the front wheel — a 1 to 1 ratio. Why did inventors make the front wheel so large?
Sort it again — on paper this time
Write the letter of the group each one belongs in.
- The rear wheel makes 1.5 rotations per pedal rotation
- The rear wheel makes 4 rotations per pedal rotation
- Makes it easier to pedal at slower speeds or go uphill
- Makes it easier to pedal at faster speeds or go downhill
- Needs to turn 32 teeth to make one full rotation
- Needs to turn 12 teeth to make one full rotation
- The bike travels the shortest distance per pedal rotation
- The bike travels the greatest distance per pedal rotation
Practice Set · Part 3
Math is Ingenuity
Words and reasoning
Word bank · Banco de palabras
Use the words
Fill each blank with a word from the bank.
- Coming up with a different, sometimes unique solution is ___.
- One full turn of a wheel, gear, or pedal is a ___.
- A toothed wheel that passes motion through a chain is a ___.
- A comparison of two quantities, like pedal turns to wheel turns, is a ___.
Explain the thinking
- 9
Find the mistakeAnother student made this exact mistake in this lesson. Explain why it is wrong, then write what they should have done.
The mistake: Thinking a rear gear with MORE teeth makes the wheel spin more — it is the opposite: the 32-tooth gear gives only 1. - 10
Say moreWhen you sorted facts about the 32-tooth gear and the 12-tooth gear, why does the SMALLER gear give MORE wheel rotations per pedal rotation?
- 11
Write your ownWrite your own problem about this situation, then solve it and show the answer. The situation: An old photograph shows a Penny Farthing bicycle from the late 1800s — a rider perched high on an enormous front wheel, with a tiny rear wheel trailing behind.
Show your work
Practice Set · Part 4
Math is Ingenuity
Show what you know
Last check
These two come from Lesson 10.3. If they are shaky, that is the lesson to revisit — not this one.
- 12
Show what you knowExplain your thinking — Which statement best captures what this lesson means by 'Math is Ingenuity'?
- AMath can help us come up with creative solutions to everyday problems
- BMath is only useful for inventors who lived in the 1800s
- CIngenuity means avoiding math and just guessing
- DEvery bicycle must have a 1 to 1 pedal ratio
Explain your choice.
- 13
From Lesson 10.3Explain your thinking — Which statement best shows what this lesson means by 'math is playful'?
- AWe play with math by imagining possible solutions and looking for patterns that help us think logically about puzzles
- BMath is playful only when there are no rules to follow
- CPuzzles like the Tower of Hanoi can only be solved by trial and error
- DPlaying with math means guessing until something works
How do you know?
- 14
From Lesson 10.3Continuing the pattern from 15 steps for a 4-disc tower, how many steps does a 5-disc tower take?
- A16
- B30
- C31
- D45
How do you know?
Be honest — this tells your teacher what to do next
| I can… | Not yet | Getting there | Got it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I can use ratios and models to explain how the Penny Farthing and gear-driven bicycles were ingenious solutions to a real problem, explain why the method works, and use it on a problem I have not seen before. | |||
| I can explain why it works: With each pedal rotation, the bicycle travels the length of the perimeter of the wheel… | |||
| I can justify my answer to a skeptic and connect it to a second strategy or representation. |
One question I want to ask my group next time