Aligns to Common Core Math Standards 

This ten-part series presents an impressive array of real-world applications of algebra, including an analysis of the 2008 mortgage crisis, calculation of a car’s speed determined by evidence left at an accident scene, and a mathematical examination of New Guinea’s 1998 earthquake and tsunami. Each video includes graphing calculator applications that use the Texas Instruments TI-Nspire calculator, with all keystrokes clearly shown. The series covers the complete scope and sequence of an  algebra curriculum.

Titles include:

Data Analysis
In this program data analysis is used to determine what made subprime mortgages capable of wreaking havoc on the economy. Also examined: mortgage rates for two applicants who have two different credit scores, and the decline in real estate values relative to the rise in adjustable rate mortgages.

Exponential Functions
Because of their dramatic changes in intensity from one point to another, earthquakes are an ideal example of exponential functions. This program compares quakes of various magnitudes that occurred in China to explain the difference between linear and exponential functions.

Functions and Relations
An interplanetary voyage is used in this program to investigate quadratic relations—circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas. The video also looks at the eccentricities of conic sections, and explains why an elliptical rather than a direct path is the best way for the rocket to travel.

Inequalities
This program uses the design for a moveable floodgate in Venice, to be activated automatically when waters reach a critical level, to illustrate mathematical inequalities. Inequalities are also demonstrated by calculating the mpg of a hybrid and a gas-engine vehicle, factoring in both city and highway driving, to determine which is really more fuel efficient.

Linear Functions
This program demonstrates data sets and linear functions by graphing current oil consumption and then using the data to predict future demand. Providing an overview of the slope formula, the slope-intercept form of a linear function, linear regression, and linear graphs, the video also explains linear functions in the context of cyclists pedaling up and down the hills of Tuscany. In addition, a linear model for heart rate during aerobics is used to generate an exercise data chart.

Logarithmic Functions
In this program the risk of hearing loss from prolonged exposure to loud sounds is calculated using logarithmic functions. The program also explains the relationship between exponential and logarithmic functions by looking at the 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake.

Quadratic Functions
In this program quadratic functions are used to model the arc of footballs and fireworks as they fall, and to determine how fast a car was moving at the time of an accident. In addition, a quadratic model for growth data charts a child’s change in height from birth to toddler. The roots of quadratic functions, quadratic regression, and solving quadratic equations are all covered.

Rational Functions
In the first segment of this program, functions are used to calculate how much water pressure a submarine can withstand before it implodes. Studying the ratio of surface area to volume of both a snake and a polar bear in the second segment yields clues about how animals have adapted to their environment. Finally, the inner workings of the Hubble space telescope are explained in terms of rational functions.

Systems of Equations
In the first segment, a business’s break-even point is calculated, and in the next segment a substitution code, encrypted using linear equations, is deciphered. Last, a defense system proposed by Ronald Reagan to stop ICBMs in mid-air is shown to be based on quadratic equations.

Variables and Equations
This program investigates the bees’ changing population as part of an exploration of variables, expressions, and equations. Then, expressions are used to analyze a river’s meander ratio, or the ratio of its sinuous length to its straight-line length. The program includes a thorough explanation of the concept of equations, and how to solve for “x” in an algebraic expression.