This lesson is an introduction into conic sections using Styrofoam cups and then taking a

closer look at the parabola by using patty paper to show students how a parabola is formed
by a focus and a directrix.
Subject(s): Mathematics
Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, LCD Projector
Instructional Time: 50 Minute(s)
Keywords: parabola, focus of a parabola, directrix, focal length
Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan, Image/Photograph
Instructional Design Framework(s): Confirmation Inquiry (Level 1)
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative

LESSON CONTENT
 Lesson Plan Template:

Confirmatory or Structured Inquiry

 Learning Objectives: What will students know and be able to do as a result of this
lesson?

o Students will identify the relationship between between the focus, the directrix, and the points of a
parabola.
o Students will identify the focal length of a parabola.
o Students will compare the appearance of parabolas with different focal lengths.
 Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?

o Students should know that the vertex is the intersection of a parabola and its axis of symmetry, and they
should know how to graph vertical parabolas.
o Prior knowledge will be assessed during the investigation activity after students have formed a parabola.
 Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?

o How do the focus (the point) and the directrix (the line) relate to the points of the parabola? (Every point on
the parabola is equidistant from the focus and the directrix.)
o How are the axis of symmetry, the focus and the directrix related? (The focus is a point on the axis of
symmetry. The axis of symmetry and the directrix are perpendicular to one another.)
o How is the shape of the parabola affected by the distance between the focus and directrix? (The further
away the directrix is to the focus the more stretched (narrower) the parabola is. The closer the directrix is to
the focus the more compressed (wider) the parabola is.)
 Introduction: How will the teacher introduce the lesson to the students?
 1. Using a document camera, the teacher will show a Styrofoam cup and a paper cone cup to the class. Talk
about how if you cut off the top of the cone it will look like the cup.
2. Show the bottom of the cup and ask what shape it is (circle). Then take a cup and cut with a plastic knife
through the cup at an angle not cutting through the top or the bottom. Ask students what this shape is
(ellipse).
3. Take another cup bottom up and cut from the side (not through the bottom) down through the top of the top
of the cup. Ask students what shape the cup is now (parabola).
4. Now take two paper cone cups tip to tip and talk about a double napped cone, and then put one Styrofoam
cup bottom up and place another Styrofoam cup bottom down on top of the first cup. Make a vertical cut
through both cups and ask the students what shape you have made now (hyperbola).
5. You should take a marker and ink the outline of the shape and then print the shape on a piece of copy paper
and write the name of the shape with the shape.
6. Have students create their own shape sheet by copying from the teacher demonstration.
7. Instead of doing this as a teacher demonstration, you could give a group of four students their own
Styrofoam cups and plastic knifes so they could cut the cups and each make a shape sheet from their own
created shapes.
8. Students should recognize the circle and the parabola, but they may not know the ellipse and the hyperbola.

 Investigate: What question(s) will students be investigating? What process will

students follow to collect information that can be used to answer the question(s)?

Students need to be set in groups of four. Every student needs a piece of tracing paper or patty paper at least 3"x3"
and a ruler.

0. Draw a line parallel to the bottom of the patty paper.

1. Draw a point (not on the line). Make sure everyone in your group has a point a different distance from the
line.
2. Fold your patty paper so that the line passes through the point and crease the paper. Repeat this process
with another part of the line at least 20 more times.
 o What shape have you formed? (parabola)
o Since the parabola is formed by the point and the line there are actual names for them. The point is called
the focus and the line is called the directrix.
o Fold the parabola in half with the line going through the focus.
o What is this line called? (axis of symmetry)
o What is the point of intersect of the parabola and the axis of symmetry called? (vertex)
 Analyze: How will students organize and interpret the data collected during the
investigation?

0. Pick a point on the parabola and measure the distance from the point on the parabola and the focus. How
does this compare to the distance between the point on the parabola and the directrix? (They are the same
distance.)
1. Is this true for every point on the parabola? (yes)
2. How do the focus and the directrix relate to the points of the parabola? (Every point on the parabola is
equidistant from the focus and the directrix.)

3. Measure the distance between the focus and the vertex. This measurement is called the focal length.
4. Compare your parabola with others in your group what differences to you see?
 5. How is the shape of the parabola affected by the distance between the focus and directrix? (The further
away the directrix is to the focus the more stretched (narrower) the parabola is. The closer the directrix is to
the focus the more compressed (wider) the parabola is.)
 Closure: What will the teacher do to bring the lesson to a close? How will the
students make sense of the investigation?

o What do you know about the relationship between the focus, the directrix and the points of a parabola?
(Every point on the parabola is equidistant from the focus and the directrix.)
o What is the focal length of a parabola? (Is the distance between the focus and the vertex.)
o How does a parabola with a focal length of 2 inches compare to a parabola with a focal length of I inch?
(The parabola with a focal length of 2 inches is stretched (narrower) more than the parabola with a focal
length of 1 inch.)
o How does a parabola with a focal length of ½ inch compare to a parabola with a focal length of I inch?
(The parabola with a focal length of ½ inch is compressed (wider) more than the parabola with a focal
length of 1 inch.)
 Summative Assessment

o Summative assessment will be done through a unit test.

o The teacher will measure the impact of this lesson by checking students understanding during the Closure
section of the lesson with probing questions about how focal length affects the shape of the parabola.
 Formative Assessment

Understanding and prior knowledge of conic sections will be checked during the introduction activity. During the
lesson, once the students have recognized that the shape is a parabola, you can check for prior knowledge of the
parts of the parabola.

 Feedback to Students

After students have had a chance to compare their parabolas within their groups, the teacher will circulate to every
group and check each groups understanding of how the focal length affects the shape of the parabola. Students will
be able to use their understanding of focal length to answer closure problems.

ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS



Accommodations:

Have a few parabolas already folded in case they are needed for any students having difficulty folding the patty
paper. If a student needs help with the parts of the parabola let them use a textbook for reference or give them a copy
of a parabola with its parts labeled.


Extensions:

Have students that finish early make an ellipse with patty paper.

o Draw a circle on a new piece of patty paper.

o Draw a point inside your circle off center.
o Fold the paper so that a point on the circle passes through the point inside the circle and crease. Repeat the
process another 20 times with another part of the circle.

Suggested Technology: Document Camera, LCD Projector


Special Materials Needed:

Materials for student use:

4 Styrofoam cups per group (optional), tracing paper or patty paper (one per student), rulers
Materials for teacher use:
2 paper water cups in the shape of a cone, 5 Styrofoam cups

Further Recommendations:

You may want to have cups pre-cut to make sure you have a good example to show students and you should have
the different parts of the folding activity done to show as an example if needed.