Sequoia NP Math Project – Circles & Indirect Measurement – 7th-8th Grade – PRINT

Description

Want to provide engaging, real life math applications as students calculate with circles and cylinders? This math project allows students to apply what they know to help Sequoia National Park determine the widest, tallest and biggest sequoia trees.

In this real world math project, students use circle measurements (area & circumference of circles), volume of cylinders along with indirect measurement to estimate the width, height and volume of 10 of the largest trees in Sequoia National Park.

This is a fun way for 7th or 8th grade students to put their knowledge of many different middle school math concepts to work while also learning about one of the most unique & beautiful national parks in the United States.

You could also use this in a high school Geometry class!

In part one of the project, students must calculate the diameter of each tree given the circumference in order to find the ‘widest tree.’

In part two, students use proportions and indirect measurement to estimate the height of each tree to find the ‘tallest tree.’

In part three, students use the measurements they’ve found to estimate the volume of each tree using the formula for a cylinder (obviously the trees are not perfect cylinders, but this will provide practice with volume, allow students to ‘order’ the trees and determine the ‘biggest tree’ by volume, and make for an interesting discussion–is their estimate an overestimate or underestimate?).

Once they have finished their calculations, they put everything together in their ‘Final Report.’

There is also the option to draw a scale model picture of the 10 trees from tallest to shortest, along with a 6 ft. tall person to show just how tall the trees are.

Math Skills Needed for this Project:

• Using the circumference of a circle to find diameter
• Using proportions/indirect measurement to estimate the height of each tree
• Calculate the volume of cylinders
• Create a scale drawing (optional)

(Optional: provide calculators to help students who may get bogged down in lots of computation).

Ways to Use the Project:

If you would like to complete the project in class, students could work with partners to split up the work.

However, you could also assign this as an individual project at the end of your geometry chapter or unit, to be completed at home.

This could also work as an extra credit project, early finisher challenge or end-of-year application project.

Included in the Download:

• Instructions/Tips for teachers (including additional info about the trees in Sequoia National Park)
• Student handout pages to guide them through all parts of the project & record their calculations
• “Final Report” summary page for students to record all their final calculations
• “Snapshot” page to share the tallest, widest & biggest tree, along with some fun facts
• “Reflection Questions” page, allowing students to reflect on their learning & think about their estimates & precision of their calculations
• “Tree Rankings” page, where students can list the trees in order (optional)
• “Scale Model” page, where students can draw a scale picture to show the trees from tallest to shortest (optional)
• Grading Rubric with assigned tasks/points values
• Blank Grading Rubric, allowing you to create your own criteria/point values
• Answer keys where applicable (all calculations and final report page)

Love learning through problem solving? Check out these additional real life math projects:

• SHOPPING SPREE PERCENT PROJECT
• BUILD YOUR OWN AMUSEMENT PARK PROJECT
• NATIONAL PARKS ROAD TRIP PROJECT (UNIT RATE, PROPORTIONS)

Please Note: This product is a downloadable pdf file. No physical product will be shipped to you. In addition, this resource is for personal use in the home or classroom only. You may not share, distribute, alter or post this resource online in any way. Thank you for your honesty!