Lesson 3: Equations for Functions

Goals
• Calculate the output of a function for a given input using an equation in two variables, and
interpret (orally and in writing) the output in context.

• Create an equation that represents a function rule.

• Determine (orally and in writing) the independent and dependent variables of a function, and
explain (orally) the reasoning.

Students will be able to ...

Learning Targets
• I can find the output of a function when I know the input.
• I can name the independent and dependent variables for a given function and represent the
function with an equation.

Lesson Narrative
So far we have used input-output diagrams and descriptions of the rules to describe functions. This
is the first of five lessons that introduces and connects the different ways in which we represent
functions in mathematics: verbal descriptions, equations, tables, and graphs. In this lesson students
transition from input-output diagrams and descriptions of rules to equations.

This lesson also introduces the use of independent and dependent variables in the context of
functions. For an equation that relates two quantities, it is sometimes possible to write either of the
variables as a function of the other. For example, in the activity Dimes and Quarters, we can choose
either the number of quarters or the number of dimes to be the independent variable. If we know
the number of quarters and have questions about the number of dimes, then this would be a
reason to choose the number of quarters as the independent variable.

Alignments
Addressing
• 8.F.A: Define, evaluate, and compare functions.
Standard addressing
• 8.F.A.1:
Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph
of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output.
Function notation is not required in Grade 8.

Building Towards
• 8.F.B.4: Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine
the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from
two values, including reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of
 change and initial value of a linear function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of
its graph or a table of values.

Instructional Routines
• MLR6: Three Reads
• MLR8: Discussion Supports
• Think Pair Share
Student Learning Goals
Let’s find outputs from equations.

3.1 A Square’s Area

Warm Up: 5 minutes
The purpose of this warm-up is for students to use repeated reasoning to write an algebraic
expression to represent a rule of a function (MP8). The whole-class discussion should focus on the
algebraic expression in the final row, however the numbers in the table give students an
opportunity to also practice calculating the square of numbers written in fraction and decimal form.

Addressing
• 8.F.A.1
Launch
Arrange students in groups of 2. Give students 1–2 minutes of quiet work time and then time to
share their algebraic expression with their partner. Follow with a whole-class discussion.

Student Task Statement

Fill in the table of input-output pairs for the given rule. Write an algebraic expression for the
rule in the box in the diagram.
 input output

2.2

Student Response

input output

8 64

2.2 4.84

or

Activity Synthesis
Select students to share how they found each of the outputs. After each response, ask the class if
they agree or disagree. Record and display responses for all to see. If both responses are not
mentioned by students for the last row, tell students that we can either put or there. Tell
students we can write the equation to represent the rule of this function.

End the discussion by telling students that while we’ve used the terms input and output so far to
talk about specific values, when a letter is used to represent any possible input we call it the
independent variable and the letter used to represent all the possible outputs is the dependent
variable. Students may recall these terms from earlier grades. In this case, is the independent
variable and the dependent variable, and we say “ depends on .”
3.2 Diagrams, Equations, and Descriptions
15 minutes
The purpose of this activity is for students to make connections between different representations
of functions and start transitioning from input-output diagrams to other representations of
functions. Students match input-output diagrams to descriptions and come up with equations for
each of those matches. Students then calculate an output given a specific input and determine the
independent and dependent variables.

Addressing
• 8.F.A
Instructional Routines
• MLR8: Discussion Supports
• Think Pair Share This task is related to the exit ticket according to identify the function
Independent and dependet variable.
Launch
Arrange students in groups of 2. Give students 3–5 minutes of quiet work time and time to share
their responses with their partner and come to agreement on their answers. Follow with
whole-class discussion.

Student Task Statement

Record your answers to these questions in the table provided.

1. Match each of these descriptions with a diagram:

a. the circumference, , of a circle with radius,

b. the distance in miles, , that you would travel in hours if you drive at 60 miles per
hour

c. the output when you triple the input and subtract 4

d. the volume of a cube, given its edge length,

2. Write an equation for each description that expresses the output as a function of the
input.

3. Find the output when the input is 5 for each equation.

4. Name the independent and dependent variables of each equation.

 description a b c d

diagram

equation

input = 5
output = ?

independent
variable

dependent
variable

Student Response

description a b c d

diagram D B C A

equation

input = 5
300 11 125
output = ?

independent
variable

dependent
variable

Are You Ready for More?

Choose a 3-digit number as an input.

Apply the following rule to it, one step at a time:

 • Multiply your number by 7.
• Add one to the result.
• Multiply the result by 11.
• Subtract 5 from the result.
• Multiply the result by 13
• Subtract 78 from the result to get the output.
Can you describe a simpler way to describe this rule? Why does this work?

Student Response
If we apply the steps to a generic 3-digit number , the result is

For any 3-digit number , the number is just that number repeated twice. This works since
, so for example,

Activity Synthesis
The goal of this discussion is for students to describe the connections they see between the
different entries for the 4 descriptions. Display the table for all to see and select different groups to
share the answers for a column in the table. As groups share their answers, ask:

• “How did you know that this diagram matched with this description?” (We remembered the
formula for the circumference of a circle, so we knew description A went with diagram D.)

• “Where in the equation do you see the rule that is in the diagram?” (The equation is the
dependent variable set equal to the rule describing what happens to the independent variable
in the diagram.)

• “Explain why you chose those quantities for your independent and dependent variables." (We
know the independent variable is the input and the dependent variable is the output, so we
matched them up with the input and output shown in the diagram.)
 Access for English Language Learners

Speaking: MLR8 Discussion Supports. As students describe the connections they noticed in the
table across from the different entries for the four descriptors, revoice student ideas to
demonstrate mathematical language use. In addition, press for details in students’
explanations by requesting that students challenge an idea, elaborate on an idea, or give an
example. This will help students to produce and make sense of the language needed to
communicate their own ideas about functions and independent and dependent variables.
Design Principle(s): Support sense-making; Optimize output (for explanation)

3.3 Dimes and Quarters

15 minutes
The purpose of this activity is for students to work with a function where either variable could be
the independent variable. Knowing the total value for an unknown number of dimes and quarters,
students are first asked to consider if the number of dimes could be a function of the number of
quarters and then asked if the reverse is also true. Since this isn't always the case when students
are working with functions, the discussion should touch on reasons for choosing one variable vs.
the other, which can depend on the types of questions one wants to answer.

Identify students who efficiently rewrite the original equation in the third problem and the last
problem to share during the discussion.

Addressing
• 8.F.A.1
Building Towards
• 8.F.B.4
Read 1: Understand the story context.
Instructional Routines Read 2: Identify quantities.
• MLR6: Three Reads Read 3: Reveal the questions ad plan solution strategies.

Launch
Arrange students in groups of 2. Give students 3–5 minutes of quiet work time followed by partner
discussion for students to compare their answers and resolve any differences. Follow with a
whole-class discussion.
 Access for Students with Disabilities

Representation: Internalize Comprehension. Provide appropriate reading accommodations and

supports to ensure students access to written directions, word problems and other text-based
content.
Supports accessibility for: Language; Conceptual processing

Access for English Language Learners

Reading: MLR6 Three Reads. Use this routine to support reading comprehension and to set
students up to interpret the representations of the situation provided in the task statement (an
equation) and discussion (function diagrams). In the first read, students read the information
with the goal of comprehending the situation (e.g., Jada has dimes and quarters). In the second
read, ask students to identify important quantities. Listen for, and amplify, naming of the
quantities that vary in relation to each other in this situation: number of dimes, total value of
dimes, number of quarters, total value of quarters. After the third read, ask students to discuss
possible strategies to answer the questions that follow, paying attention to the different coin
values, and how each question is phrased. This will help students comprehend the problem
and make sense of important quantities and variables when working with a function in which
either variable could be the independent variable.
Design Principle(s): Support sense-making

Anticipated Misconceptions
Some students may be unsure how to write rules for the number of dimes as a function of the
number of quarters and vice versa. Prompt them to use the provided equation and what they know
about keeping equations equal to create the new equations.

Student Task Statement

Jada had some dimes and quarters that had a total value of $12.50. The relationship between
the number of dimes, , and the number of quarters, , can be expressed by the equation
.

1. If Jada has 4 quarters, how many dimes does she have?

2. If Jada has 10 quarters, how many dimes does she have?

3. Is the number of dimes a function of the number of quarters? If yes, write a rule (that
starts with ...) that you can use to determine the output, , from a given input, . If
no, explain why not.

4. If Jada has 25 dimes, how many quarters does she have?

 5. If Jada has 30 dimes, how many quarters does she have?

6. Is the number of quarters a function of the number of dimes? If yes, write a rule (that
starts with ...) that you can use to determine the output, , from a given input, . If
no, explain why not.

Student Response
1. 115. If , then the equation tells us that . Subtracting 1 from both
sides gives , so .

2. 100. If , then the equation tells us that . Subtracting 2.5 from

both sides gives , so .

3. Yes. If you know the number of quarters, then you can determine the number of dimes from
the equation. We can even write the equation in a way that shows this: . The
expression represents the output—it is the rule that determines the output from
a given input .

4. 40. If , then the equation tells us that . Subtracting 2.5 from

both sides gives , so .

5. 38. If , then the equation tells us that . Subtracting 3 from both

sides gives , so .

6. Yes. If you know the number of dimes, then you can determine the number of quarters from
the equation. We can even write the equation in a way that shows this: . The
expression represents the output—it is the rule that determines the output from a
given input .

Activity Synthesis
Select previously identified students to share their rules for dimes as a function of the number of
quarters and quarters as a function of the number of dimes, including the steps they used to
rewrite the original equation.

Tell students that if we write an equation like , this shows that is a function of
because it is clear what the output (value for ) should be for a given input (value for ).

Display the diagrams for all to see:

When we have an equation like , we can choose either or to be the

independent variable. That means we are viewing one as depending on the other. If we know the
number of quarters and want to answer a question about the number of dimes, it is helpful to write
 as a function of . If we know the number of dimes and want to answer a question about the
number of quarters, it is helpful to write as a function of .

Ensure students understand that we can’t always do this type of rearranging with equations and
have it make sense because sometimes only one variable is a function of the other, and sometimes
neither is a function of the other. For example, students saw earlier that while squaring values is a
function, the reverse—that is, identifying what value was squared—is not. We will continue to
explore when these different things happen in future lessons.

Lesson Synthesis
Tell students that we often use independent and dependent variables to represent the inputs and
outputs of functions. For some functions, we can describe the relationship between the variables
with an equation. Sometimes we can choose, depending on the situation, which variable should be
the independent and which should be the dependent variable. To help students think more about
about what independent and dependent variables represent and their use with functions, ask:

• “How can we describe the area of square of side length with an equation? Which is the
independent and which is the dependent variable?” (We can write , where is the
independent variable and is the dependent variable.)

• “The relationship between the number of dimes, , and the number of nickels, , that total $5
can be expressed by the equation . When would it be useful to choose the
number of dimes as the independent variable and rewrite the equation?” (If we knew the
number of dimes and wanted to know the number of nickels, it would be useful to rewrite the
equation so it looked like )

3.4 The Value of Some Quarters

Cool Down: 5 minutes
Addressing
• 8.F.A.1
Student Task Statement
The value of your quarters (in cents) is a function of , the number of quarters you have.

1. Draw an input-output diagram to represent this function.

2. Write an equation that represents this function.

3. Find the output when the input is 10.

4. Identify the independent and dependent variables.

Student Response
1. Here is the diagram:
2. . This reflects the statement that the value (in cents) of your collection of quarters is
always 25 times the number of quarters you have.

3. When the input is 10, the output is 250 (since ).

4. is the independent variable, and is the dependent variable.

Student Lesson Summary

We can sometimes represent functions with equations. For example, the area, , of a circle is
a function of the radius, , and we can express this with an equation:

We can also draw a diagram to represent this function:

In this case, we think of the radius, , as the input, and the area of the circle, , as the output.
2
For example, if the input is a radius of 10 cm, then the output is an area of cm , or
about 314 square cm. Because this is a function, we can find the area, , for any given radius,
.

Since it is the input, we say that is the independent variable and, as the output, is the
dependent variable.

Sometimes when we have an equation we get to choose which variable is the independent
variable. For example, if we know that

then we can think of as a function of and write

or we can think of as a function of and write

 Glossary
• dependent variable
• independent variable
• radius

Lesson 3 Practice Problems

Problem 1
Statement
Here is an equation that represents a function: .

Select all the different equations that describe the same function:

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

Solution
["A", "B", "C", "E"]

Problem 2
Statement
a. Graph a system of linear equations with no solutions.

b. Write an equation for each line you graph.

Solution
Answers vary. The graph could be any two lines that are parallel.

(From Unit 4, Lesson 13.)

Problem 3
Statement
Brown rice costs $2 per pound, and beans cost $1.60 per pound. Lin has $10 to spend on
these items to make a large meal of beans and rice for a potluck dinner. Let be the number
of pounds of beans Lin buys and be the number of pounds of rice she buys when she
spends all her money on this meal.

a. Write an equation relating the two variables.

b. Rearrange the equation so is the independent variable.

c. Rearrange the equation so is the independent variable.

Solution
a.

b.

c.
Problem 4
Statement
Solve each equation and check your answer.

Solution
a. .

b.

c.

(From Unit 4, Lesson 6.)