Mississippi Math A3.A.20
The Standard
Find the possible rational roots using the Rational Root Theorem.
2025 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Mathematics · Perform Operations on Expressions, Equations, Inequalities, and Polynomials
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students list factors of the constant term and the leading coefficient. They make positive and negative ratios, remove duplicates, and check which candidates make the polynomial equal zero.
What Mastery Looks Like
- For 2x³−3x²−2x+3, a student lists ±1, ±3, ±1/2, and ±3/2 as candidates. They can substitute a candidate and tell whether it is an actual root.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may use factors of every coefficient instead of just the constant and leading coefficients. They may leave out negative values or assume every candidate is a root.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: List all possible rational roots of 2x³−3x²−2x+3. Substitute 3 to decide whether it is an actual root.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs factor cards for 3 and 2, plus sign cards, and have them build every candidate for 2x³−3x²−2x+3.
Ask students to write why 2 cannot be a rational root of 2x³−3x²−2x+3.
Play candidate-or-not with 3x²−5x+2: show 1, −2, 2/3, and 3/2, and have students sort the cards.
Give h(t)=−5t²+5t+10 meters for a tossed ball, then have students list candidate landing times and test the positive ones.
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