Lesson 6

In the previous two lessons students have been comparing proportional and nonproportional relationships using tables and equations. In this lesson they learn to recognize proportional relationships from descriptions of the context. This lesson includes the first Info Gap activity students encounter in the grade 7 course. In the Info Gap activity, students keep asking questions until they get all the information needed to solve the problem (MP1, MP6). In this case, that means they must determine if there are quantities in a proportional relationship they can work with. They see the connection between the constant of proportionality and a constant rate in the situation, and they compare different proportional relationships using the constant of proportionality. They reason quantitatively about situations and connect their reasoning with the equation for a proportional relationship (MP3).

Due to the sequence of IM 6–8 Math Accelerated, this is no longer the first Info Gap activity students encounter in the course, as stated in the narrative. 

Make 1 copy of the Info Gap blackline master for every 2 students, and cut them up ahead of time.