Chapter 1 – Lesson 4: Jumping Jack Experiment Objective: Learn how to make and analyze line graphs

The Experiment requires 4 people: A Jumper (to do the jumping jacks) A timer ( to keep track of the time) A counter (to count the jumping jacks ) A Recorder ( to write down the number of jumping jacks ) As a group, decide who will do each task. Prepare a table for recording the total number of jumping jacks after every 10 seconds, up to a total time of 2 minutes or 120 seconds. Time (in seconds) 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Total number of JJ’s

Here’s how to do the experiment: When the timer says, “go”, the jumper begins doing jumping jacks. The counter counts the jumping jacks out loud. Every 10 seconds , the timer says, “TIME!” and the recorder records the total number of jumping jacks the jumper has done so far. Repeat the experiment (if you have time.)

Making the Line graph Step 1: Select 2 variables. For example, in the JJ experiment the two variables are time and number of jumping jacks. Step 2: Select a scale and interval for each axis. For each axis, you need to determine the largest and the smallest values you want to show on your graph and how you want to space the scale intervals. In the jumping jack experiment, the values for time are between 0-120 seconds. Since you collected data every 10 seconds, you could place numbers at 10 second intervals.

Step 3: Plot the data points. To plot the information, start at 0 on the X-axis and 0 on the y-axis. Make a point where the two lines meet (intersect). When you are done plotting the points, connect the dots with a ruler.

Example of Line Graph:

Make a LINE graph of your jumping jack data. ( Example shown in slide 6.) What does your line graph show about the jumping jack rate ( number of jumping jacks every ten seconds) as time passed? (Be specific.) Is the relationship you found between the number of jumping jacks and the time, easier to see in a table or the graph? Explain your answer. HOMEWORK: