Name: Date: Period:

8th Grade Math Culminating Project Menu B

Part #1 – DUE: MONDAY, MAY 9TH
Part #2 – DUE: MONDAY, MAY 16TH

You have your choice of the projects listed below. You may choose any combination of projects
for a total of up to 50 points for each part (i.e. – Part #1 is due on Monday, May 9th. Select any
combination of projects that total 50 points. Likewise, Part #2 is due on Monday, May 16th.
Select any combination of projects that total 50 points.) The sum of the two parts will equal 100
points for the culminating project grade. (Part #1 and Part #2 will appear in the grade book
separately.) The projects completed in Part #1 cannot be duplicated for Part #2.

All project choice descriptions and expectations are attached to this menu. If you have any
questions, please ask. Please refer to all resources (i.e., handouts, resource library, textbook,
etc.) used during the school year to help with concept ideas. YOU ARE CONTINUEALLY
REMINDED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCE TO PLAGARISM THROUGHOUT EACH
PROJECT CHOICE – YOU WILL RECEIVE A ZERO!

Projects will be worked on in class daily. Please come to class prepared everyday. None of the
projects require special supplies. The only requirements are those listed on the syllabus as
school supplies you will use all year. You are not required to purchase any additional supplies.

LATE PROJECTS – Late projects will be accepted with a penalty of a 10 point deduction each
day after the due date. ALL PROJECTS ARE DUE AS YOUR TICKET-IN-THE-DOOR. IF
YOU TURN IN A PROJECT DURING THE CLASS PERIOD OR AT THE END OF THE
CLASS PERIOD ON THE DUE DATE - THE PROJECT IS LATE!

Put a check in the box for the projects you are choosing.
This sheet must be returned with your projects.

Worth up to 30 points each: Worth up to 15 points each:

 Famous Mathematician/Concept  8th grade math Illustration
Presentation  Pythagoras Plus
 8th grade math Review Game  Let’s Have Fun
 Acting Out
Worth up to 20 points each:  Mineral Samples
 Raffalmania!
 Reading in the Dark Worth up to 10 points each (Can
 Constructing the Irrational Number complete a MAX of two (2) of these.)
Line Textbook pages – must complete ALL
 Connection Arithmetic Sequences problems on the page or pages listed and If
and Linear Functions you do not show your work you will not
 The Many Faces of Relations receive credit)
 Window Pain  Pages 792 – 793
 Page 790 – 791
 Page 805
 Page 806
 Page 807

_______ TOTAL MENU SCORE

Name: Date: Period:
 Famous Mathematician/Concept Presentation PowerPoint OR PodCast OR Script

Create a Power Point presentation or video skit or write a script or present the script for a TV
news reporter detailing the procedures, facts, over-arching process standards and how they are
used to inform and enrich the 8th grade math content standards about a famous mathematician or
concept. You must include at least 5 facts about the person or concept, and the following
questions must be answered:

1) What is the background info on this person or concept?

2) What was going on in the world at this time?
3) Why is this person or concept important to the world of math?

Possible mathematicians/concepts (All others must be approved):

 Pascal’s Triangle  Zeno of Elea

 Number Systems  Sir Isaac Newton
 History and Uses of the Pythagorean  Boyle, Robert
Theorem  Galilei, Galileo
 Golden Ratio  Russell, Bertrand
 Fibonacci Sequence  Einstein, Albert
 Monies of the world and conversion  Dodgeson, Charles Lutwidge
 Four Color Problem  Euclid of Alexandria
 Magic Squares  Cartwright, Dame Mary Lucy
 Archimedes  Hilbert, David
 Eratosthenes of Cyrene  Plato
 Agnesi, Maria  Pascal, Blaise
 DeMorgan, Augustus  Aristotle
 Barrow, Isaac  Copernicus, Nicolaus
 Klein, Felix Christian  Riemann, Georg
 Clavius, Christopher  Fibonacci, Leonardo Pisano
 Halley, Edmond  Cantor, Georg Ferdinand
 Kepler, Johannes  Hippocrates of Chios

Copying and pasting information from the Internet is plagiarizing. Plagiarized work will
receive a zero.

Review Game

Create a review game (like Jeopardy, Millionaire, etc…) that can be used to review one of the
following units: Unit 1, Unit 3, Unit 4, or Unit 5.
 You must have at least 20 questions – in either multiple choice OR open response format.
 The questions must be ORIGINAL – created by YOU, NOT COPIED. (That would be
plagiarism.)
 Each element from each standard in the unit must be covered. (See
www.georgiastandards.org for a list of standards.)

A ZERO WILL BE ASSIGNED FOR PLAGIARISM OR COPIED PROJECTS!!

 8th Grade Math Concepts Illustration

Draw an illustration (cartoon) that represents an 8 th grade math concept.

 Use one (1) of the task projects attached to present the 8 th grade concept (See tasks worth 20
points or 15 points).
 The illustration or the characters in the illustration must accurately represent and/or explain the
8th grade math concept chosen.
 Every question in the project must be answered in the illustration.
 The illustration must be clear so that any reader can understand the concept.
 Correct math language must used in the illustration.
 A ZERO WILL BE ASSIGNED FOR PLAGIARISM OR COPIED PROJECTS!!

8th Grade Math Tasks

Raffalmania

The 8th grade class of City Middle School has decided to hold a raffle to raise money to fund a
trophy cabinet as their legacy to the school. A local business leader with a condominium on St.
Simon’s Island has donated a week’s vacation at his condominium to the winner—a prize worth
$1200. The students plan to sell 2500 tickets for $1 each.

1) Suppose you buy 1 ticket. What is the probability that the ticket you buy is the winning
ticket? (Assume that all 2500 tickets are sold.)

2) After thinking about the prize, you decide the prize is worth a bigger investment. So you
buy 5 tickets. What is the probability that you have a winning ticket now?

3) Suppose 4 of your friends suggest that each of you buy 5 tickets, with the agreement that
if any of the 25 tickets is selected, you’ll share the prize. What is the probability of
having a winning ticket now?

4) At the last minute, another business leader offers 2 consolation prizes of a week-end at
Hard Labor Creek State Park, worth around $400 each. Have your chances of holding a
winning ticket changed? Explain your reasoning. Suppose that the same raffle is held
every year. What would your average net winnings be, assuming that you and your 4
friends buy 5 $1 tickets each year?

Reading in the Dark Task

In 1821, Frenchman Louis Braille developed a method that is used to help blind people read and
write. This system was based on a more complicated process of communication that was formed
by Charles Barbier due to an order from Napoleon who wanted soldiers to communicate in the
dark and without speaking. Braille met with Barbier and decided to simplify the code by using a
six-dot cell because the human finger needed to cover the entire symbol without moving so that
it could progress quickly from one symbol to the next.
Each Braille symbol is formed by raising different combinations of dots. Below is a sample of
the first three letters of the alphabet.

1) Using the six-dot Braille cell, how many different combinations are possible? Provide a
detailed explanation of how you know using complete sentences and correct math
language.
2) Do you think this is enough symbols for sight-impaired people to use? State why or why
not?
3) What are some reasons that some of the possible combinations might need to be discarded?
Use complete sentences.
4) An extension has been added to the Braille code that contains eight-dots with the two
additional ones added to the bottom. How does this change the number of possible
different combinations? Justify your answer by providing a detailed explanation of how
you know using complete sentences and correct math language.

Constructing the Irrational Number Line

In this task, you will construct a number line with several rational and irrational numbers
plotted and labeled. Start by constructing a right triangle with legs of one unit. Use the
Pythagorean Theorem to compute the length of the hypotenuse. Then copy the segment
forming the hypotenuse to a line and mark one left endpoint of the segment as 0 and the
other endpoint with the irrational number it represents.

Construct other right triangles with two sides (either the two legs or a leg and a hypotenuse) that
have lengths that are multiples of the unit you used in the first triangle. Then transfer the lengths
of each hypotenuse to a common number line, and label the point that it represents. After you
have constructed several irrational lengths, list the irrational numbers in order from smallest to
largest.
Connection Arithmetic Sequences and Linear Functions – Learning Task

YOU MUST USE GRAPH PAPER AND A RULER TO RECEIVE FULL CREDIT FOR
GRAPHS!!

For each of the sequences given in questions 1-5, determine

a) a recursive definition,
b) an explicit definition, and
c) a graph of at least the first six terms of the sequence.

1) 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, …

2) 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, …
3) 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, …
4) 38, 30.5, 23, 15.5, 8, …
5) -4, -1.3, 1.4, 4.1, 6.8, …

6) Only one of the sequences in questions 1-5 was not arithmetic. Which sequences in
questions 1-5 were arithmetic? For each sequence you identify, also state the common
difference.
7) Compare the recursive definitions of the arithmetic sequences in questions 1-5. How are
the recursive definitions of arithmetic sequences similar? How are the recursive
definitions of arithmetic sequences different from those of non-arithmetic sequences?
8) Compare the explicit definitions of the arithmetic sequences in questions 1-5. How are
the explicit definitions of arithmetic sequences similar? How are the explicit definitions
of arithmetic sequences different from those of non-arithmetic sequences?
9) Compare the graphs of the arithmetic sequences in questions 1-5. How are graphs of
arithmetic sequences similar? How are the graphs of arithmetic sequences different from
those of non-arithmetic sequences?
10) In question 6, you identified the common differences for the four arithmetic sequences.
How is the common difference for each arithmetic sequence represented in the recursive
definition for that sequence?
11) How is the common difference for each arithmetic sequence represented in the explicit
definition for that sequence?
12) In question 9, you should have identified the common characteristic of the graphs of
arithmetic sequences as being linear. On the graphs you drew for questions 1-5, draw the
extended lines through the scatterplots representing the sequences. Determine the slope
of each line you drew in question 12.
13) What are the common differences for each arithmetic sequence in questions 1-5? Explain
what this represents.

The Many Faces of Relations Task

1) Complete a survey of the students in your class. Expand the following table to include a row
for every student and gather the requested information from every classmate.

Class Survey
 Student
First Name Last Name Height Number of Pets
Number
#1
#2
#3
#4

2) How many different types of ordered pairs can be created from this survey data? You must
list all of the combinations of ordered pair to receive full credit. Use the complete list of
ordered pair to explain your answer. HINT: One type of ordered pair you could create from
the information you collected in your survey is (Student #, First Name).

3) If the first term of each ordered pair is the independent variable and the second is the
dependent, then which of the ordered pairs you identified in question 2 are relations? Which
are functions? Explain your answers using correct math language given the concept. HINT:
Use the relations and functions hand outs given in Unit 4. If you do not have them go to the
resource library or the homework handouts online.

Window Pain Task

Part 1:

Your best friend’s newest blog entry on MySpace reads:

“Last night was the worst night ever! I was playing ball in the street with my buds
when, yes, you guessed it, I broke my neighbor’s front window. Every piece of
glass in the window broke! Man, my Mom was soooooooooooo mad at me! My
neighbor was cool, but Mom is making me replace the window. Bummer!”

It is a Tudor-style house with windows that look like the picture below.

I called the Clearview Window Company to place an order. What was really weird was that the
only measurements that the guy wanted were BAD (60), BCE (60), and = 28 inches. I
told him it was a standard rectangular window and that I had measured everything, but he told
me not to worry because he could figure out the other measurements. It is going to cost me $20
per square foot, so I need to figure out how to make some money real quick.
How did the window guy know all of the other measurements and how much is this going to cost
me?

Because you are such a good best friend, you are going to reply to the blog by emailing the
answers to the questions on the blog along with detailed explanations about how to find every
angle measurement and the lengths of each edge of the glass pieces. You will also explain how to
figure out the amount of money he will need. (TO RECEIVE FULL CREDIT YOU MUST
SHOW YOUR WORK FOR EACH PIECE AND IDENTIFY EACH ANGLE
RELATIONSHIP USED TO FIND THE ANGLE MEASUREMENT!!)

Part 2:
(Two weeks later)

You just received a text message from your best friend and were told that the order of glass had
been delivered to the house by Package Express. Unfortunately, one of the pieces was broken
upon arrival and needed to be reordered by Clearview Window Company. Because you are very
curious, you think it would be a good idea to determine the probability of each piece of glass
being the one broken.

Write another email to your friend that explains the probabilities and how you determined them.
(YOU MUST ALSO SHOW YOUR WORK!!)

Pythagoras Plus

1) Find the exact area (in square units) of the figure below. Explain your method(s).
2) Find the areas of the squares on the sides of the triangle to the right. (Hint: How does the
large square below compare to the square in problem 1 above?)

a) How do the areas of the smaller squares compare to the area of the larger square?
b) If the lengths of the shorter sides of the triangle are a units and b units and the length
of the longest side is c units, write an algebraic equation that describes the
relationship of the areas of the squares.
c) This relationship is called the Pythagorean Theorem. Interpret this algebraic
statement in terms of the geometry involved.

3) Does the Pythagorean relationship work for other polygons constructed on the sides of right
triangles? Under what condition does this relationship hold?

4) Why do you think the Pythagorean Theorem uses squares instead of other similar figures to
express the relationship between the lengths of the sides in a right triangle?

Let’s Have Fun

Part 1

A survey was given to a group of eighth graders. They were each asked what their plans were for
the upcoming holidays. From the clues, determine how many eighth graders were surveyed.
 Thirty-two students planned to visit relatives.
 Twenty-three students planned to go shopping.
 Thirty-one students planned to travel.
 Twelve students planned to travel and visit relatives.
 Eight students planned travel, visit relatives, and go shopping.
 Seven students planned to travel but did not plan to visit relatives or go shopping.
 Thirty students planned to do more than one of the three activities.
 Eleven students did not plan to visit relatives, go shopping, or travel.

How many students were surveyed? Show how you know.

Part 2

Five of the students were talking about their travel plans. Their names were Albert, Donna, Fred,
Sam, and Victoria. They happened to noticed that each one was going to a different place and
were using a different type of transportation. The places that were to be visited were New York,
Miami, Anchorage, Boston, and San Diego.
 The means of transportation were the family car, a recreational vehicle, a rented van, an
airplane, and a cruise ship. Where was each person going and how were they planning on
getting there?
 The person that was going to New York in a rented van was best friends with Albert and
Victoria.
 The person who was going to Anchorage was not in math class with the person that was
traveling by airplane, the person that was going to Miami, nor with Fred or Victoria.
 The person planning to travel by airplane was not going to Boston; Sam was not going to
Boston either.
 The person going to Miami was on the math team with Albert’s sister who tutored
Donna.
 Donna and Victoria were not going to travel by land.
 Albert and Fred noticed that their methods of transportation were both two words with
the same first letters.

Acting Out Task

Erik and Kim are actors at a theater. Erik lives 5 miles from the theater and Kim lives 3 miles
from the theater. Their boss, the director, wonders how far apart the actors live.

On grid paper, pick a point to represent the location of the theater. Illustrate all of the possible
places that Erik could live on the grid paper. Using a different color, illustrate all of the possible
places that Kim could live on the grid paper.

1) What is the smallest distance, d, that could separate their homes? How did you know?
2) What is the largest distance, d, that could separate their homes? How did you know?
3) Write and graph an inequality in terms of d to show their boss all of the possible
distances that could separate the homes of the two actors. REMEMBER TO USE
GRAPH PAPER.
Mineral Samples Task

Last summer Ian went to the mountains and panned for gold. While he didn’t find any gold, he
did find some pyrite (fool’s gold) and many other kinds of minerals. Ian’s friend, who happens to
be a geologist, took several of the samples and grouped them together. She told Ian that all of
those minerals were the same. Ian had a hard time believing her, because they are many different
colors. She suggested Ian analyze some data about the specimens. Ian carefully weighed each
specimen in grams (g) and found the volume of each specimen in milliliters (ml).

1) Can the data be represented as an equation or inequality? If so, write it.

2) Graph the data in the chart below.
3) Write your analysis of his data given below.

Specimen Mass or weight (g) Volume (ml)

Number
1 17 7
2 10 4
3 13 5
4 16 6
5 7 3
6 24 10
7 5 2