In the previous sections, you considered several different aspects of problem solving, reflected on how you problem solve, and developed working definitions of some aspects of the concept.
Now that you are familiar with the Standard, we'd like you to apply it to a mathematics problem involving linear programming. Carol Cho is a high school teacher teaching a college preparatory course for mixed 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-grade students. Topics in the course include ratio, proportion, linear regression, functions, logarithms, probability, and statistics.
Today's lesson comes near the end of a unit on linear programming, optimizing linear functions by graphing them and inspecting related polygons. Previously, students created estimates of the numbers of bass and carp in a fictional pond that is overrun with carp. For this activity, which they will work on in groups, they use data they gathered and information on breeding and feeding habits of both species to determine optimal fish populations. After they complete the problem, they will write a letter to a fictional board of supervisors with recommendations based on their results. The supervisors want to optimize the conditions of the pond for bass and will set limits on an upcoming fishing derby to do so. However, the supervisors have made it clear that neither species should be completely fished out of the pond. Mathematically valid scenarios that have either carp = 0 or bass = 0, will not be acceptable to the supervisors.
