Exponents Lesson Plan: Exponent Battle
Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
In this lesson plan, adaptable for grades 5-12, students watch the BrainPOP movie Exponents and explore the other features in this topic to learn how exponents provide a simple way of expressing really big (or small) numbers. Students then apply their understanding by playing a game called “Exponent Battle.”
Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments
Grade: 05
CCSS.Math.Content.5.NBT.A.2
Explain patterns in the number of zeros of the product when multiplying a number by powers of 10, and explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point when a decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of 10. Use whole-number exponents to denote powers of 10.
Grade: 06
CCSS.Math.Content.6.EE.A.1
Write and evaluate numerical expressions involving whole-number exponents.
Grade: 06
CCSS.Math.Content.6.EE.A.2c
Evaluate expressions at specific values of their variables. Include expressions that arise from formulas used in real-world problems. Perform arithmetic operations, including those involving whole-number exponents, in the conventional order when there are no parentheses to specify a particular order (Order of Operations). For example, use the formulas V = s3 and A = 6 s2 to find the volume and surface area of a cube with sides of length s = 1/2.
Grade: 06
CCSS.Math.Content.6.EE.A.4
Identify when two expressions are equivalent (i.e., when the two expressions name the same number regardless of which value is substituted into them). For example, the expressions y + y + y and 3y are equivalent because they name the same number regardless of which number y stands for..
Grade: 08
CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.A.1
Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3–5 = 3–3 = 1/33 = 1/27.
Grade: 08
CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.A.2
Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes. Know that √2 is irrational.
Grade: 08
CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.A.3
Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times an integer power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the other. For example, estimate the population of the United States as 3 times 108 and the population of the world as 7 times 109, and determine that the world population is more than 20 times larger.
Grade: 08
CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.A.4
Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used. Use scientific notation and choose units of appropriate size for measurements of very large or very small quantities (e.g., use millimeters per year for seafloor spreading). Interpret scientific notation that has been generated by technology
Grade: 09, 10, 11, 12
CCSS.Math.Content.HSF-LE.A.3
Observe using graphs and tables that a quantity increasing exponentially eventually exceeds a quantity increasing linearly, quadratically, or (more generally) as a polynomial function.
Grade: 09, 10, 11, 12
CCSS.Math.Content.HSN-RN.A.1
Explain how the definition of the meaning of rational exponents follows from extending the properties of integer exponents to those values, allowing for a notation for radicals in terms of rational exponents. For example, we define 51/3 to be the cube root of 5 because we want (51/3)3 = 5(1/3)3 to hold, so (51/3)3 must equal 5.
Students will:
- Discuss what they know about exponents and how we use them.
- Watch a BrainPOP movie and explore resources about exponents.
- Apply understanding by playing an exponent game.
Materials:
- Internet access for BrainPOP
- Interactive whiteboard
- Decks of cards (one deck per pair of students)
- Calculator
Lesson Procedure:
- Project the BrainPOP topic Exponents on the whiteboard. Read aloud, or have a volunteer read the summary that appears below the movie player.
- Have students discuss what they know about exponents or how they may have seen them used before. Make sure they understand that an exponent is the number of times a number is multiplied by itself. Write an example on the board, such as 2^3. Tell them that the 2 is the base and the three is the exponent that tells how many times to multiply the number 2. Write it out as 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 as you explain.
- Show the movie Exponents to the whole class on the whiteboard. Turn on the closed caption option to aid in comprehension. Pause for key concepts and discuss their meaning. You may also use the Exponents Pause Point Discussion Prompts while watching the movie.
- Next, pair up students and tell them they are going to play a game called “Exponent Battle.” Distribute a deck of cards to each pair, and have one student deal the cards one at time, face down, between them.
- Now have both students turn over their top two cards. Tell them that the goal is to produce the highest value. To do that they need to calculate which number to make the base and which to make the exponent. The student who created the greater value, wins the round and keeps all four cards. Use a calculator to confirm answers. If there is a tie, they choose the next two cards and continue as before. The game ends when all the cards are used. The player with the most cards at the end is the winner.
- Conclude the lesson by repeating the question from the beginning about what they know about exponents and how they may be used in real life.
Extension Activities:
Invite students to test their knowledge of exponents by taking the Exponents Quiz.Related:
Filed as:
3-5, 6-8, 9-12, BrainPOP, CCSS.Math.Content.5.NBT.A.2, CCSS.Math.Content.6.EE.A.1, CCSS.Math.Content.6.EE.A.2c, CCSS.Math.Content.6.EE.A.4, CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.A.1, CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.A.2, CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.A.3, CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.A.4, CCSS.Math.Content.HSF-LE.A.3, CCSS.Math.Content.HSN-RN.A.1, Exponents, Lesson Plan, Math, Multiplying and Dividing Exponents
