Question:

Have you heard about the lady who sued McDonalds when she spilt coffee on herself and was
badly scalded? How hot should a hot drink be when you buy it?

Intro:
Research
Find answers to these questions:
What temperature is considered scalding (hot enough to burn flesh)
o ~160F is considered as scalding.
At what temperature is it safe enough to take the first sip of your hot drink?
o ~140F is an optimal temperature to satisfy the customer as well as not burn them
After your hot drink is poured, how much time would you be willing to wait before taking
your first sip?
o ~5-7 minutes
Source 1
Source 2
Part A:
What kind of mathematical model best represents the relationship between time and temperature?
Is the function linear, absolute value, quadratic, square root , exponential or logarithmic?
Quadratic: The time increases while the temperature decreases.
Collect data from the video! You must collect at least ten data points.

Number Time (s) Temperature (F)
1 0 (26.42) 200
2 38.45 (64.87) 190
3 100.19 (165.06) 180
4 118.19 (283.95) 170
5 167.1 (451.05) 160
6 230.93 (681.98) 150
7 299.96 (981.94) 140
8 295.47 (1277.41) 130
9 250.85 (1528.26) 125
10 462.53 (1712.94) 120


Values for Calc:
Time (x) Temperature (y)
1 0 200
2 37.879 190
3 136.36 180
4 257.58 170
5 424.24 160
6 651.52 150
7 954.55 140
8 1250 130
9 1500 125
10 1962.1 120


Graph the data and decide what type of parent function would best fit the data. Explain your
reasoning.

Best parent function: Quadratic function, the time it takes to drop down the same amount of
temperature is increasing each time.
Now use your knowledge of transformations to find a function that would fit the data. Graph it and
comment on its accuracy.
Function: 2.193624588168 E -5 X^2 - 0.79379454004X + 193.21148298762
This quadratic function was the best fit for the graph, but yet it did not go through all the points
completely, therefore it was the most accurate out of the options, but still not completely
accurate.
Would any other functions be a better model? How do you know?
I dont feel other functions were going to be a better model as this one was the one that most
pertained to our sort of data that needed an equation.
Part B: Using your TI
Enter the data onto your TI and find the best possible regression curve for your data.
Function: 2.193624588168 E -5 X^2 - 0.79379454004X + 193.21148298762
How could you compare different graphs and decide which one is the best fit?
You could compare different graphs by finding the regression of each type of graph, the one thats
closest or includes the most amount of points is the one that is best fit. In this case it was the
quadratic graph.
Part C: Conclusion
Use the graphs and data you have collected to find answers to the following questions. Justify
your answers.
What temperature is considered scalding (hot enough to burn flesh)
o Around 160F is considered scalding, and that is around the temperature of the
drink that the lady was served at McDonalds.
At what temperature is it safe enough to take the first sip of your hot drink?
o At around 140F is a safe enough temperature to take a sip of your hot drink, while
not being cold enough to be unsatisfactory.
After your hot drink is poured, how much time would you be willing to wait before taking
your first sip?
o Personally, I wouldnt like to wait longer than 5 minutes to take a sip of my drink.

How would you change your model to take into account the following:
Change in environment
o If you were in a colder environment, i.e somewhere which is not Bombay, it would
be quicker that you would able to drink your coffee.
An espresso coffee from an espresso machine
o If we take an espresso from the espresso machine, there would be a way to
regulate the temperature of the coffees that came out. Therefore I would only be
willing to wait for not even a minute after it came up.
Different types of coffee cups
o Different types of coffee cups dont really change the temperature of when you
drink it, rather the temperature of how tolerable it is to hold, it would just be
more convenient if you were able to hold hot coffee.
Choose one of these changes, and develop a new model.
If we were to take an espresso from a coffee machine, the graph wouldnt look very different, it
would just start at a much lower temperature. It would start at a temperature that is hot, but
drinkable since its able to control the temperature, and therefore I wouldnt have to wait as long
to be able to drink the coffee.
Part D: How did you do?
We are looking at three main skills:
Investigating Patterns Between 4-5 because I do apply mathematical skills and knowledge
such as finding the graph to be a quadratic relationship between the time and
temperature and recognize that pattern. I describe them as general mathematical rules
and I do draw conclusions which are consistent with my findings.
Communicating Mathematically Around 4 because I feel like I could use more
Mathematical terms when drawing my conclusion instead of using more of words. I think
thats where Im lacking and definitely need to improve and what keeps me at 4. I show
different forms of representation such as a little bit of mathematical and just explanation
in general.
Justifying your results Around 4 because I did suggest the real life situations where this
would definitely be applicable, but where I was lacking from going higher would be when I
would discuss the limitations of my experimental process and how I am able to better it in
the future.
Use the criteria below to give yourself a rating and send it to me!



Investigative patterns:


Level
Descriptors

inve
stiga
ting
patt
erns
7 8
The student selects and applies mathematical
problem-solving techniques to recognize
patterns, describes them as relationships or
general rules, draws the correct conclusions
consistent with the correct findings, and
provides justifications or a proof.

5 6
The student selects and applies mathematical
problem-solving techniques to recognize
patterns, describes them as relationships or
general rules, and draws conclusions
consistent with findings.

3 4
The student applies mathematical problem-
solving techniques to recognize patterns, and
suggests relationships or general rules.

1 2
The student applies, with some guidance,
mathematical problem-solving techniques to
recognize simple patterns.

0
The student does not reach a standard
described by any of the descriptors given above.

Communication in mathematics

Level
Descriptors

com
mun
icati
on
in
5 6
The student shows good use of mathematical
language and forms of mathematical
representation. The lines of reasoning are
concise, logical and complete. The student
moves effectively between different forms of
representation.
mat
hem
atic
s

3 4
The student shows sufficient use of
mathematical and forms of mathematical
representation. The lines of reasoning are clear
though not always logical or complete. The
student moves between different forms of
representation with some success.

1 2
The student shows basic use of mathematical
language and/or forms of mathematical
representation. The lines of reasoning are
difficult to follow.

0
The student does not reach a standard
described by any of the descriptors given above.

Reflections in mathematics:

Level
Descriptors

refle
ctio
n in
mat
hem
atic
s
5 6
The student critically explains whether his or
her results make sense in the context of the
problem. The student provides a detailed
explanation of the importance of his or her
findings in connection to real life where
appropriate. The student justifies the degree of
accuracy of his or her results where appropriate.
The student suggests improvements to his or her
method where appropriate

3 4
The student correctly but briefly explains
whether his or her results make sense in the
context of the problem.
The student describes the importance of his or
her findings in connection to real life where
appropriate. The student attempts to justify the
degree of accuracy of his or her results where
appropriate.

1 2
The student attempts to explain whether his or
her results make sense in the context of the
problem. The student attempts to describe the
importance of his or her findings in connection to
real life where appropriate

0
The student does not reach a standard
described by any of the descriptors given above.