Instructions

To complete this activity, students should start in the upper left box, work the problem, then search for the answer in one of the other boxes. Once they find it, they will label that box #2, then work on the new problem. Students will continue in this manner until they reach the 20th question, whose answer should be in box 1. If students “short-circuit” and return to the first box without having completed all the problems, they will know there was a mistake made somewhere. ​ Students may work on the circuit individually, though they generally prefer to work in pairs or groups of three. You may wish to provide whiteboards (or other non-permanent surfaces) for students to work out problems and as a tool to facilitate collaboration among group members.

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Answers in the circuit are intentionally similar, so students have to attend to precision in their problem solving. For example, students will need to know how many solutions are required based on the given domain or the range of an inverse trig function. Encourage students to provide support for their answers and defend their answers to their group members. Circuits are a great opportunity to “construct viable arguments and critique the arguments of others.” (Mathematical Practice 3).

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Today’s circuit was written by Virge Cornelius–the circuit master! The entire circuit can be completed without a calculator.