The Great Race
Patterns and Functions
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Objective
Students will construct charts to examine number patterns and use these patterns to
generate a graph of the situation.
Overview of the Lesson
The story of Tortisha and Harry is presented to the class: Harry is so sure that he can
run faster than Tortisha, that he will give her a 2 mile head start in a race. Harry
runs at the rate of 3/4 mile in 6 minutes and Tortisha runs at the rate of 1/2 mile in
5 minutes. Will Harry ever catch Tortisha? Students first map the progress of
Tortisha and Harry using the Dream Track worksheet. Finding this to be quite
tedious and confusing, they make a chart to examine patterns and then graph
Harry’s and Tortisha’s progress. Finally, students analyze the problem to arrive at
algebraic representations for both Harry’s and Tortisha’s rates. This information is
entered into the graphing calculator which generates both a chart and graph of the
situation. So, the question still remains, “ Who will win the race?” Students
discover that either Tortisha or Harry could win the race, or it could be a draw. It all
depends on the length of the race.
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