Lesson 13: AI and Mathematics -- Pattern Recognition and Predictive Modeling
Instructions for Teachers
Print this document and cut along the card borders. Each group of 3-4 students receives 2 cards. Groups analyze the data, identify patterns, calculate statistics, make predictions, and present their findings. After presentations, reveal the "actual" values listed on the Teacher Answer Key at the end of this document.
Group Roles: Data Manager (reads data) | Calculator (does the math) | Grapher (creates visuals) | Presenter (explains findings)
CARD 1
Sports Analytics
Basketball Points Per Game
Maya is the star point guard on her middle school basketball team. Her coach tracked her points scored over the last 10 games to predict her performance in the upcoming championship game (Game 11). An AI sports analytics tool is also making predictions based on the same data.
Game
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Points
14
18
16
22
20
24
19
26
23
28
Your Detective Mission:
Calculate the mean of Maya's points per game:
Calculate the median:
Is there a trend? Are her scores generally increasing, decreasing, or flat?
Predict Maya's score for Game 11: points
How confident are you in this prediction (1-10)? Explain why.
Show your calculations here:
CARD 2
School Operations
Pizza Slice Orders by Day
The school cafeteria wants to use data to avoid wasting food. They tracked how many pizza slices were ordered each day for 2 weeks. They need to predict next Friday's order so they know how much pizza to make. An AI ordering system would use this same data to automate the prediction.
Day
Mon W1
Tue W1
Wed W1
Thu W1
Fri W1
Mon W2
Tue W2
Wed W2
Thu W2
Fri W2
Slices
120
95
130
108
165
125
100
135
112
170
Your Detective Mission:
Calculate the overall mean: slices
Find the mode day pattern: Which day consistently has the highest orders?
Calculate the mean for Fridays only:
Calculate the mean for Tuesdays only:
Predict the order for next Friday (Week 3): slices
Why would using the Friday mean be a better prediction than the overall mean for a Friday?
Show your calculations here:
CARD 3
Weather Forecasting
Monthly Rainfall Trends
A local weather station recorded total monthly rainfall (in inches) from March through October. They want to predict November and December rainfall to help the city plan for flooding or drought. AI weather models analyze decades of data like this -- your group will work with just one year.
Month
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Rainfall (in.)
3.8
4.2
3.5
2.8
2.1
1.9
2.4
2.9
Your Detective Mission:
Calculate the mean monthly rainfall: inches
Describe the overall trend from March to August. What happened in September-October?
Predict November rainfall: inches
Predict December rainfall: inches
This data shows a non-linear pattern. Sketch a rough graph of the data. Why would a straight trend line NOT work well for this data?
Show your calculations and sketch here:
CARD 4
Gaming Analytics
Video Game Score Progression
Jamal just started playing a new puzzle game. His scores are tracked over 12 play sessions. The game's AI difficulty system uses player score trends to adjust challenge levels. Can you predict when Jamal will reach the 500-point milestone needed to unlock the next level?
Session
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Score
120
155
180
210
245
270
300
325
355
380
410
435
Your Detective Mission:
Calculate the average increase per session (subtract Session 1 from Session 12, then divide by 11): points per session
Is this close to an arithmetic sequence? Check by calculating differences between consecutive sessions.
Predict Jamal's score for Session 13:
Predict what session Jamal will reach 500 points: Session
If the game's AI notices scores are rising steadily, it should increase difficulty. At what score should the AI trigger a difficulty increase? Justify your answer.
Show your calculations here:
CARD 5
Social Media Analytics
School Club Follower Growth
The school robotics club started a social media account to recruit new members. They tracked their follower count at the end of each week. Social media platforms use AI to predict which accounts will grow fastest and recommend them to more users. Can you predict the club's growth?
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Followers
15
28
52
95
140
178
205
224
Your Detective Mission:
Calculate the change (new followers) for each week: Week 1→2: , 2→3: , 3→4: , etc.
Is the growth speeding up, slowing down, or constant? Explain.
Calculate the mean followers across all 8 weeks:
Predict the follower count at Week 10:
Why do you think the growth slowed down in later weeks? How would AI account for this "growth curve" pattern?
Show your calculations here:
CARD 6
Fitness Tracking
Running Speed Improvement
Aaliyah is training for the school track team. She records her time for the 400-meter dash each week. Her AI-powered fitness app is tracking her progress and predicting when she'll meet her goal of completing the dash in under 70 seconds.
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Time (sec)
92
89
86
84
82
80
78
77
75
74
Your Detective Mission:
Calculate the mean time: seconds
Calculate the total improvement (Week 1 - Week 10): seconds
Calculate the average improvement per week: seconds/week
Predict Aaliyah's time for Week 12: seconds
Based on the trend, in which week will Aaliyah first run under 70 seconds? Week
Notice the improvement is larger in early weeks and smaller in later weeks. Why might improvement slow down as an athlete gets faster?
Show your calculations here:
CARD 7
Music Streaming
Song Popularity Over Time
A new song was released on a streaming platform. The daily play counts were tracked for 10 days. Streaming platforms like Spotify use AI to predict which songs will be hits and add them to popular playlists. Can your group predict this song's trajectory?
Day
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Plays (thousands)
2
5
12
28
45
62
71
68
55
42
Your Detective Mission:
Calculate the mean daily plays: thousand
On which day did the song peak? Day
Describe the pattern: The song's plays first __________, then __________.
Predict plays for Day 11: thousand
Predict plays for Day 14: thousand
This is called a "rise and fall" pattern. Why can't you use a single straight trend line for this data? What would an AI need to do differently?
Show your calculations here:
CARD 8
Transportation
School Bus Ridership
The school district is analyzing bus ridership data to decide whether to add a new bus route. They tracked the number of students riding Bus Route 7 each morning for 2 weeks. AI systems used by school districts analyze this kind of data to optimize bus routes and schedules.
Day
Mon W1
Tue W1
Wed W1
Thu W1
Fri W1
Mon W2
Tue W2
Wed W2
Thu W2
Fri W2
Riders
42
45
44
43
38
44
46
45
44
36
Your Detective Mission:
Calculate the mean ridership: students
Calculate the median: students
Find the mode: students
Notice the Friday pattern. Calculate the mean for Fridays:
Calculate the mean for non-Fridays:
Predict ridership for next Wednesday:
The bus has 48 seats. Based on the data, should the district add a new bus? Use your statistics to justify your answer.
Show your calculations and reasoning here:
Teacher Answer Key and "Actual" Values for Reveal
Note: Use these "actual" values during the AI Comparison activity (Step 5 of the lesson). Reveal them after groups present their predictions.