# Engaging students: Solving quadratic equations

In my capstone class for future secondary math teachers, I ask my students to come up with ideas for engaging their students with different topics in the secondary mathematics curriculum. In other words, the point of the assignment was not to devise a full-blown lesson plan on this topic. Instead, I asked my students to think about three different ways of getting their students interested in the topic in the first place.

I plan to share some of the best of these ideas on this blog (after asking my students’ permission, of course).

This student submission comes from my former student Elizabeth (Markham) Atkins. Her topic, from Algebra II: solving quadratic equations.

D. History: Who were some of the people who contributed to the discovery of this topic?

Factoring quadratic polynomials is a useful trick in mathematics. Mathematics started long ago. http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~sxw8045/history.htm stated that the Babylonians “had a general procedure equivalent to solving quadratic equations”. They taught only through examples and did not explain the process or steps to the students. http://www.mytutoronline.com/history-of-quadratic-equation states that the Babylonians solved the quadratic equations on clay tablets. Baudhayana, an Indian mathematician, began by using the equation $ax^2+bx=c$. He provided ways to solve the equations. Both the Babylonians and Chinese were the first to use completing the square method which states you take the equation $ax^2+bx+c$. You take $b$ and divide it by two. After you divide by two you square that number and add it to $ax^2+bx$ and subtract it from $c$.  Even doing it this way the Babylonians and Chinese only found positive roots. Brahmadupta, another Indian mathematician, was the first to find negative solutions. Finally after all these mathematicians found ways of solving quadratic equations Shridhara, an Indian mathematician, wrote a general rule for solving a quadratic equation.

C. Culture: How has this topic appeared in the news?

A. Applications: How could you as a teacher create an activity or project that involves your topic?

Lesson Corner (http://www.lessoncorner.com/Math/Algebra/Quadratic_Equations) is an excellent resource for finding lesson plans and activities for quadratic equations. One lesson (http://distance-ed.math.tamu.edu/peic/lesson_plans/factoring_quadratics.pdf) talking about engaging the students with a game called “Guess the Numbers”. The students are given two columns, a sum column and a product column. They are then to guess the two numbers that will add to get the sum and multiply to get the product. This is an excellent game because it gets the students going and it is like a puzzle to solve. Learn (http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2981) has a lesson plan for a review of quadratic equations.  The students are engaged by playing “Chutes and Ladders”. The teacher transformed it. The procedures are as follows:

1. Draw a card.
2. Roll the dice.
3. If you roll a 1 or a 6, then solve your quadratic equation by completing the square.
4. If you roll a 2 or 5, then solve your quadratic equation by using the quadratic formula.
5. If you roll a 3, then solve your quadratic equation by graphing.
6. If you roll a 4, then solve your quadratic equation by factoring if possible. If not, then solve it another way.
7. If you solve your equation correctly, then you may move on the board the number of spaces that corresponds to your roll of the die.
9. The first person to reach the end of the board first wins the game!
10. Good luck!!

I think this is an excellent idea because it brings back a little of the students’ childhood!

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