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Middle School Math Department | Function Voyage: Decrypting the Secrets of Everyday Life

May 28, 2025

This year’s Grade 8 mathematics inquiry unfolded like a quiet stream flowing deep, subtle yet profound, gently opening a new lens through which students observe the world around them. No longer confined to the mechanics of formulas and calculations, they awakened their “functional eyes” and stepped into every corner of daily life, using the light of reason to illuminate the hidden mathematical patterns in the ordinary. With cameras in hand and minds engaged, they captured still images and deconstructed them through thoughtful analysis, allowing abstract functions to take vivid form in the real world. Working in small teams, students wandered through the campus, seeking the linear rhythm of railings, the graceful parabolas of archways, and the exponential growth woven into the branches of plants. They then turned to tools like GeoGebra and Desmos to model and analyze the functional relationships embedded in their photographs—transforming mathematical abstraction into something concrete, visual, and alive.









Richly layered and thoughtfully designed, the project spanned a wide range of themes and complexity. From geometric explorations through paper-folding to analyzing the population dynamics of African black rhinos, students were guided step by step to translate real-world phenomena into measurable, analyzable mathematical forms. Each task engaged them in a full modeling cycle: observe, hypothesize, build, and verify. In parallel, the project connected with the school’s charity fair initiative, where students simulated the entire process from designing promotional cards to calculating production costs and profit margins. In doing so, they uncovered the underlying mathematical structures in business operations and deepened their appreciation for how mathematics applies to economic and social realities.





This journey planted in the hearts of students a seed—the idea that mathematics is a powerful lens through which to understand the world. More than just a knowledge-building exercise, the project served as an awakening of thought, encouraging them to see with greater clarity, think with more precision, and appreciate the beauty of logic interwoven with everyday life. When students learn to read the world through the language of math, they set foot on a path where reason and creativity grow hand in hand. And through the lens of functions, a brighter, more thoughtful future comes into view.








Written by Wei Xu

Pictures by Grade 8 math teachers

Edited by Cong Luo

Reviewed by Zheng Wenyin, Chenli Shen, Cong Luo, Emma Hackett