2.++Task

Task Students will collect information about the National debt, plot the data by decade, and determine whether an exponential curve is a good fit for the data. Then student groups will determine and compare common traits and differences in changes in the National debt in three major eras: the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Students will: Graphing calculator or spreadsheet program which will calculate curve of best fit. Computers with spreadsheet graphing capability, such as Microsoft Excel® Click on the following link to download the activity sheet. Follow directions to complete the lesson. Link is __The National Debt and Wars Activity Sheet__ The following web site may be of interest. It is the National Debt Clock. Check it out and explore the information that is available. Identify two interesting pieces of information you bet from this web site. National Debt Clock
 * Determine if an exponential function adequately describes the changes in the National Debt from its inception;
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Use technology (such as a spreadsheet program) to sketch graphs of functions and bar graphs of percent changes in the National Debt around war times;
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Choose an appropriate scale and compare percent changes in the Debt around three major wars (the Civil War, World War I, and World War II)