Lesson Plan- Algebra II-Day Two

Lavina Schwartz, Kaitlyn Gorman

Lesson Taught: Oct. 28th at Brown County, Koressel and Burton
Title of the Lesson
Graphing Polynomials
Target Audience of the Lesson:
Algebra II; Grades 9-12

Overall Goal of the Lesson:

Students will factor polynomial equations and use what they know about end behaviors
and y-intercepts to represent the equation on the graph. Students will then use a graph
in a real world context to create and equation.

Student Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to factor polynomials and graph them on a coordinate plane with
technology.
Students will be able to use key features of polynomials to graph equations without
technology.
Students will be able to use the graph of a polynomial to write and equation representing
the graph.
Student Prior Knowledge
Students will know how to factor polynomials
Students will know how to graph polynomials in factored form.
Students will know the end behaviors of polynomial equations to assist them in graphing
from previous lesson.

Assessment: (Go back to your learning objectives. What will the students do to
demonstrate they have met the learning objectives? Make sure each objective is
paired to an assessment measure)
We will have a group discussion about the exploration towards the end of class.
Students will complete a technology survey so we can see how technology enhanced the
lesson.
Students will work on the extra practice worksheet summing up the entire the lesson.

Indiana Common Core Standards and Mathematical Practices Addressed:

Standards
All. PR.2 Graph relations and functions including polynomial, square root, and piecewisedefined functions (including step functions and absolute value functions with and without
technology. Identify and describe features, such as intercepts, zeros, domain and range,
end behavior, and lines of symmetry.
All. F.1 Determine whether a relation represented by a table, graph, or equation is a
function.
All. PR. 1.: Solve real-world and other mathematical problems involving polynomial
equations with and without technology. Interpret the solutions and determine whether the
solutions are reasonable.

Graph polynomial functions with and without technology.

Identify and describe intercepts, zeros, domain and range, end behavior, and
lines of symmetry of polynomial functions.
Determine whether relation is a function in multiple representations.
Model real-world polynomials functions.
Solve polynomial equations with and without technology.
Interpret solutions to polynomial equations and determine whether solutions are
reasonable.

Mathematical Practice:
PS.1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
PS.4: Model with mathematics.

Length of Lesson:
50 minutes (one class period)

Schedule of Activities: (Focus on what students will be doing and what teachers
will be doing during each part of the activity.)
Launch/Before: (10 minutes)
Review on how to graph polynomials in factored form.

Yesterday, you all worked with polynomials in factored form, and you worked with end
behaviors and the zeros of the function to graph the equations. Lets do a quick example

on the board.
I will have this equation written on the whiteboard and use desmos grid to practice what
the line should look like. After we sketch it out we will graph it on desmos to see if it
worked.
We will make sure to talk about zeros and end behavior.
Also make sure to discuss what domain and range are and figure those out for the
function
Have the students following along in their notes.

Example: f (x) = (x - 3)(x - 1)^2

Roots are at (3,0) and (1,0)
End behavior is going from negative to positive
Domain: (-infinity, infinity)
Range: (-infinity, infinity)

Next I will write this equation up on the board. What is different about this equation and
the one before? How can we graph this one? Remind students about how they were
factoring last week, and how you have to pull out the GCF. Use desmos again to demo
this.
What is the negative going to do this equation? How many zeros will this graph have?
What is the GCF, what can we factor out of this equation?
What is the equation in factored form? Find the zeros of the graph. Have someone come
up and sketch it. Graph it on desmos to make sure it matches.

Go over a graph with a general equation

Example:-x^3+3x^2
Factored form: f (x) = -x^2(x - 3)
Roots are at (0,0) and (3,0)
End behavior goes from positive infinity to negative infinity
Domain: (-infinity, infinity)
Range: (-infinity, infinity)

Investigate/During: (30 minutes)

We will begin by dissecting a graph on the board and talk about end behavior, y
intercept, zeros of the graph, domain, and range. Use what we found to write and
equation of the graph.
I will have this picture in my dropbox so I can open it in notability.
Students will list what each of the key features of the graph is to help us write the
equation. Is there a negative out front? How do we know? How does the negative affect
the graph? We are going to learn something else today and that is how the y-intercept
affects the graph. What is the y-intercept here? Where does it cross the y axis? Where
did the graphs from yesterday hit the y axis? Usually at zero. This one is at 2. So what
can we do to find the zeros of the graph? Lets draw a new y axis so it is the same as the
parent function. Where would the new y-axis be? Now can you see the roots? What are
they? How would you write that? Where do you think we would put the two? Someone
give me an equation, lets try to graph it. If that one does work lets adjust.
We will talk about one other thing, that is the domain and range. Domain represents the
x values on the graph and range represents the y values on the graph. What is the
domain of the equation? We will see the area the equation covers on the x axis. The
range is the area it covers on the y axis.
Picture of graph:

End behavior: start up and finish going down.

y-intercept: (2,0)
Zeros/Roots: (0,0) and (3,0)
Find maximum point to find domain and range.
Domain: (-infinity, infinity)
Range: (-infinity, infinity)
General form: -x^3+3x^2+2
Factored form: f (x) = -x^2(x-3)+2

After we go through a graph and the different concepts that they may not understand yet,
students will get into groups of three or four and go through the polynomial skiing
mountain exploration.
This activity includes having students apply polynomials to a real world application.
Students will be working together to come up with an equation based on a graph that
was given. Then they will graph the equation they found and compare it to the graph they
were given. The questions that follow go through the key features that we want our
students to understand.
Summarize/After: (10 minutes)
Group discussion

Questions:
What did your graphs look like?
What did you find the end behavior to be?
What are the domain and range of the graph?
How did you find the domain and range?
How does the y-intercept affect the equation and the graph?

Adaptations: (How might the lesson be geared up or down? How might the lesson
need to be adapted for students with special needs?)
Differentiated Instruction: Students will be working with their peers to accomplish the
task. This will help any students with disabilities that may need extra help. We will try to
pair students that have higher abilities with the students that have lower abilities.
Geared Up: Students will be able to make connections from the graph to the equation, to
the real life situation and then discuss these connections with the class. There is a
challenge on the worksheet that students can attempt also. We can have the students
talk about where the graph is positive and negative if they finish the exploration early.
Geared Down: Students will be working in groups and get assistance from group
members. If they are not understanding the activity we will regroup as a class and go
over any concepts that students need help with.
Materials Needed: (Go through each activity and identify what items and
technology are needed to complete this lesson.)
-

iPads
Computer/Projector
White Board
Polynomial Exploration Worksheet
Extra Practice Worksheet

Skiing Down Eagle Mountain

You and your friends have decided to go for a ski trip to Eagle Mountain. You
took a picture from the side of the mountain and it looked like the graph below.
Your Task: To write the polynomial equation that represents the outline of the
mountain. Use key features of polynomials including y-intercept, roots/zeros,and end
behavior to write the equation and find the matching graph to the one above. Use your
iPad to test your equation to see if you have found Eagle Mountains outline in
polynomial form.

Use the graph to answer the following questions:

What is the end behavior of this function? Talk in your group about how this affects the
written equation.
1. What are the roots of this equation?
2.

What is the y-intercept of the function?

3.

What is the equation that you came up with?

Factored Form Equation:
General Equation:

4.
Find the domain and range of the function. (Graph the equation you got in #4 find
the absolute maximum)
Domain (use x-axis):

Range (Hint: Find the absolute maximum of the graph, use y-axis):

Challenge (making connections): How far above sea level is the mountain? What is sea
level represented by in the graph?

Answer Key:
1. What is the end behavior of this function? Talk in your group about how this
affects the written equation. Since this is a quartic both lines will be going down
forever. Therefore as f(x) goes to negative infinity x will go to negative and positive
infinity.

2.

What are the roots of this equation?

The roots are
(0,0), (2,0), (3,0)

3.

What is the y-intercept of the function?

y intercept is at (0,3)

4.

What is the equation that you came up with?

Factored Form Equation: -x(x-2)(x-3)^2+3
General Equation: -x^4+8x^3-21x^2+18x+3

Find the domain and range of the function. (Graph the equation you got in #4 find the
absolute maximum)
Domain (use x-axis): (-infinity, infinity)

Range (Hint: Find the absolute maximum of the graph, use y-axis):
(-infinity, 7.8481)

Challenge (making connections): How far above sea level is the mountain? What is sea
level represented by in the graph? The mountain is the 3 units above sea level and the it
representing the new x-axis because of 3 is the y-intercept.