Understanding Graphs

Students run a simulation of how a fire will spread through a stand of trees, learning about probability and chaos. Parameters: Forest density, wind direction, size of forest.

Audiences: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Undergraduate

Primary Subjects: Discrete, Fractions, Modeling, Probability

Related Topics: agent modeling, chaos, conditional probability, experimental probability, iteration, percentages, percents, probability simulation, proportion, simulation, skewed distribution, variance

Create a game spinner with variable sized sectors to look at experimental and theoretical probabilities. Parameters: Sizes of sectors, number of sectors, number of trials.

Audiences: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12

Primary Subjects: Discrete, Fractions, Probability, Statistics

Related Topics: angles, circle graph, circles, counting, decimals, events, experimental probability, fair, geometric probability, outcomes, percentages, percents, pie chart, probability simulation, simulation, spinner, statistics, theoretical probability

Sort colored shapes into a bar graph. Practice sorting by shape or by color. Appropriate for elementary grades. Bar Graph Sorter is one of the Interactivate assessment explorers.

Audiences: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8

Primary Subjects: Geometry, Graphs, Statistics

Related Topics: bar graph, circles, counting, sorter, squares, statistics

Create a game spinner with one to twelve sectors in order to look at experimental and theoretical probabilities. Parameters: Number of sectors, number of trials.

Audiences: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12

Primary Subjects: Discrete, Fractions, Probability, Statistics

Related Topics: angles, circle graph, circles, events, experimental probability, fair, geometric probability, outcomes, percents, pie chart, probability, probability simulation, spinner, theoretical probability, theoretical value, trials

Students can create box plots for either built-in or user-specified data as well as experiment with outliers. User may choose to use or not use the median for calculation of interquartile range.

Audiences: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Undergraduate

Primary Subjects: Graphs, Statistics

Related Topics: box and whisker, box plot, coordinate plane, data plot, median, outlier, percentages, quartile, range, scale, skewed distribution, statistics

View histograms for built-in or user-specified data. Experiment with how the size of the class intervals influences the appearance of the histogram. Parameters: Data sets, class sizes.

Audiences: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Undergraduate

Primary Subjects: Graphs, Statistics

Related Topics: counting, data plot, graph, histogram, intervals, mean, range, skewed distribution, slides, standard deviation

Experiment with a simple ecosystem consisting of grass, rabbits, and wolves, learning about probabilities, chaos, and simulation.

Audiences: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12

Primary Subjects: Calculus, Graphs, Modeling, Probability, Statistics

Related Topics: agent modeling, calculus, chaos, graph, iteration, pattern, predator-prey, probability simulation, random number, simulation, statistics

Functions like a real stopwatch, recording times that you choose. This stopwatch is accurate to the nearest tenth of a second. Parameters: Count up from 0 or count down from a set time.

Audiences: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Undergraduate

Primary Subjects: Geometry

Related Topics: decimals, elapsed time, intervals, stopwatch, time

Enter two complex numbers (z and c) as ordered pairs of real numbers, then click a button to iterate step by step. The iterates are graphed in the x-y plane and printed out in table form. This is an introduction to the idea of prisoners/escapees in iterated functions and the calculation of fractal Julia sets.

Audiences: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Undergraduate

Primary Subjects: Algebra, Geometry, Graphs, Number and Operations

Related Topics: complex number, coordinate plane, coordinate system, exponents, fractals, functions, graph, infinity, iteration, julia set, mandelbrot set, recursion, recursive functions, sets