The Standing Reach of Manute Bol

A picture of a strange man... how tall is he? How high can he reach?  Use class data and a few predictions to create a scatterplot and trend line in order to find results. NOTE: It is helpful to not say who the man is in the picture.  A few students may recognize him but most likely the majority will not.

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Day 1

Introdution Slides
​Required materials: tape measures
Use the notes in the slides for narration, feel free to deviate from narration. 
I recommend using a google doc to collect predictions, notices, wonders, and useful information.  A google doc will also be useful for writing any extra instructions and sharing with the class.

Have students measure their heights and standing reaches and give them the opportunity to create their own model.  I assigned for homework to use the class information to make the best prediction they can using whatever method they want.

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Day 2

Follow-Up Slides
Handout
​Desmos Results
After students have submitted their predictions based on their own models, introduce the concept of scatter plots and trend lines.  Give students time to create their scatter plots and draw their trend lines.  Show students how to quickly find answers from their trend lines.

Once students have completed their calculations and formed their conclusions, show/give the handout and show how (1) the model is inaccurate due to Manute Bol's long arms or (2) the model works! If the model ends up working provide a few more NBA players to show how the model fails.