Check out this week's Lesson Collaboration Call + other upcoming events with Citizen Math teachers! Everyone is welcome.

House of Pain (Updated!)

Why are opiates so dangerous?

Login to add lessons to your favorites

House of Pain (Updated!)

Why are opiates so dangerous?

Login to add lessons to your favorites

Check it out! This lesson was just updated in September 2024, and we hope you love the new and improved version. If you've already prepped an earlier version, fear not, you can still find those here through Thursday December 5, 2024.

House of Pain - Student Handout.pdf
House of Pain - Teacher Guide.pdf
Enter Teach Mode

2023-2024 Versions

In the fall of 2024, Citizen Math released updated versions of every lesson in our library, plus a few new ones! We know you may have already prepped an earlier version or planned a repeat of last year, so we're continuing to make these earlier versions available through Thursday December 5, 2024.

You can find the new lessons through the regular search, and we hope you love them as much as we do. You can read more about these updates in Our Community.

Why are so many Americans dying from opiate overdoses? Across the United States, families and communities have been devastated by opiate addiction. A patient breaks her arm and receives a powerful pain reliever such as Oxy-Contin, then ends up addicted to heroin or even fentanyl.

In this lesson, students use exponential decay and rational functions to understand why addicted patients seek more and stronger opioids to alleviate their pain. Students discuss the role that various parties played in creating the crisis and ways they can help to solve it.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • Opioids are a class of medications that are used to treat pain.
  • Oftentimes, the longer someone takes an opioid, the less pain relief it provides. This process is called “opioid tolerance.”
  • If someone is in pain (e.g. after an injury or surgery) and is experiencing opioid tolerance, they may take more medication than is prescribed to them in order to remain pain-free.
  • Taking too much of an opioid is dangerous and can be deadly.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Write and graph an exponential decay function to model a real-world context.
  • Write and graph an exponential growth function to model a real-world context
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.
Algebra 2
Rational Functions
Algebra 2
Rational Functions
Content Standards N.Q .1 Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems; choose and interpret units consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the origin in graphs and data displays. A.CED.2 Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales. F.BF.1 Write a function that describes a relationship between two quantities. (a) Determine an explicit expression, a recursive process, or steps for calculation from a context. (b) Combine standard function types using arithmetic operations. For example, build a function that models the temperature of a cooling body by adding a constant function to a decaying exponential, and relate these functions to the model. (c) (+) Compose functions. For example, if T(y) is the temperature in the atmosphere as a function of height, and h(t) is the height of a weather balloon as a function of time, then T(h(t)) is the temperature at the location of the weather balloon as a function of time. F.LE.1 Distinguish between situations that can be modeled with linear functions and with exponential functions. (a) Prove that linear functions grow by equal differences over equal intervals, and that exponential functions grow by equal factors over equal intervals. (b) Recognize situations in which one quantity changes at a constant rate per unit interval relative to another. (c) Recognize situations in which a quantity grows or decays by a constant percent rate per unit interval relative to another. F.LE.2 Construct linear and exponential functions, including arithmetic and geometric sequences, given a graph, a description of a relationship, or two input-output pairs (include reading these from a table).
Mathematical Practices MP.1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. MP.4 Model with mathematics. MP.5 Use appropriate tools strategically. MP.6 Attend to precision. MP.7 Look for and make use of structure. MP.8 Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Other Algebra 2 Lessons

Pandemic (Updated!)

How long does it take for a virus to spread through a population?

Algebra 2
Exponential Functions (Adv.)
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Canalysis (Updated!)

What are the ideal dimensions of a soda can?

Algebra 2
Rational Functions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Win At Any Cost (Updated!)

How should professional sports teams spend their money?

Algebra 2
Bivariate Statistics
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

False Flags (Updated!)

How accurate should government surveillance be?

Algebra 2
Probability (Adv.)
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Second Degree (Updated!)

How dangerous are heat and humidity?

Algebra 2
Polynomial Functions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Pandemic (Updated!)

How long does it take for a virus to spread through a population?

Algebra 2
Exponential Functions (Adv.)
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Canalysis (Updated!)

What are the ideal dimensions of a soda can?

Algebra 2
Rational Functions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Win At Any Cost (Updated!)

How should professional sports teams spend their money?

Algebra 2
Bivariate Statistics
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

False Flags (Updated!)

How accurate should government surveillance be?

Algebra 2
Probability (Adv.)
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

Second Degree (Updated!)

How dangerous are heat and humidity?

Algebra 2
Polynomial Functions
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.