Modeling Ice Cream Sales: Creating Linear Model (Part 2)
In this interactive 8th-grade statistics lab, students explore how straight lines can model real-world data relationships. They help Leo, an ice cream truck owner, analyze his sales data by adjusting sliders for slope and intercept to create the line of best fit. As they fine-tune the line, the model error updates dynamically, showing how accuracy improves when a model fits closely to the data.
Students learn how linear models summarize relationships between two quantitative variables, gain insight into how slope and y-intercept shape the model, and understand what it means for a model to “fit” well. Through this hands-on, visual experience, they connect abstract math concepts to real-world applications used by data analysts, scientists, and businesses to make predictions and decisions.
Aligned with CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.SP.A.2, this activity turns data modeling into an engaging, interactive challenge that helps students see the power of math in action.
Learning Objective
Students will learn how to build and evaluate a linear model that represents the relationship between two quantitative variables. By adjusting the slope and y-intercept to minimize model error, students will understand how a line of best fit summarizes data trends and how model accuracy reflects how closely the line represents real-world data.
