What Students See: Finding the Vertex
Students scribble over y = 7 − (x + 5)²; mathematicians see 7 minus a positive number, maxed at 7.
Use this cartoon
Free for classrooms, worksheets, slides and other non-commercial use under CC BY-NC 4.0, with credit to Ben Orlin.
Cartoon by Ben Orlin, Math with Bad Drawings. https://cartoons.mathwithbaddrawings.com/2016-06-22-what-students-see-when-they-look-at-algebra--what-students-see-finding-the-vertex/ (CC BY-NC 4.0)Transcript
y = 7 − (x + 5)². Find the graph's vertex. / Students: a scribbled, overwritten "why = 7 − (x+5)²" with arrows to 7, "5 — wait no, −5," x = −5, y = 7, "minimum? no! max?" / Mathematicians: "y = 7 − (some positive number), so, maximized at y = 7, when the thing in brackets is 0"