Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand and apply basic calculus concepts while exploring the world of animals.

Materials and Prep

• Paper and pencil
• Calculator (optional)
• Access to the internet or books about animals

No prior knowledge of calculus is required for this lesson.

Activities

• Activity 1: Calculating Animal Speed

Choose a few different animals and research their speeds. Calculate how far they can travel in a certain amount of time. For example, if a cheetah can run at a speed of 70 miles per hour, how far can it run in 2 hours?

• Activity 2: Graphing Animal Populations

Research the populations of different animal species over the years. Create a line graph to represent the changes in population over time. Discuss how the graph can show whether a population is increasing, decreasing, or staying constant.

• Activity 3: Estimating Animal Sizes

Pick a few animals and estimate their sizes based on their proportions. For example, if you know the height of a giraffe's neck is 6 feet, estimate the height of the entire giraffe.

Talking Points

• Animals can move at different speeds. Calculating their speed helps us understand how fast they can go.
• Graphs are useful tools to visualize data. We can use them to represent changes in animal populations over time.
• Estimating sizes based on proportions allows us to make educated guesses about the size of animals.
• Calculus helps us understand how things change over time. In this lesson, we're using basic calculus concepts to explore the world of animals.
• Remember, it's important to research and gather accurate information about animals before performing calculations or making estimations.