Task statements for students to write on. Unit: 8.5 Functions and Volume (Grade 8). 8.5 Functions and Volume In this unit, students are introduced to the concept of a function. They learn to understand and use the terms “input,” “output,” and “function,” e.g., “temperature is a function of time.” They describe functions as increasing or decreasing between specific numerical inputs, and they consider the inputs of a function to be values of its independent variable and its outputs to be values of its dependent variable. (The terms “Independent variable” and “dependent variable” were introduced in grade 6.) They use tables, equations, and graphs to represent functions, and desc