Bird’s eye of activities – sortable

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It’s almost summer now
How much water should you drink? How much pee is in this pool? How has the presence of lyme disease changed? Which is the best drink deal at the fair? ...
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It's almost summer now
Giant beach towel
Check out this beach towel!  What do you wonder? What would you like to know? ...
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Giant beach towel
Souvenirs and concessions
This activity is an introduction to systems of equations with easy, motivating problems that deal with the cost of stadium purchases for food and souvenirs. These can be done by ...
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Souvenirs and concessions
Memorial Day 2023
Who are we honoring?  How did the holiday come about?  Isn't Memorial Day usually on May 30th? Students learn a little about the history of the holiday, analyze the possibilities and ...
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Memorial Day 2023
Patterns in the binomial expansion, Pascal
Realizing that (X+Y)n can be expanded with the help of Pascal's Triangle offers some pretty and interesting math play.  We love to bring a little fun and beauty into our ...
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Triple Crown hopefuls at the Preakness
Saturday, May 20th, will be the running of the Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race in Baltimore, Maryland. The Preakness is the second major race for 3-year old thoroughbreds to run ...
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Mother’s Day ideas (14 activities)
Updated! How much do we spend on Mother's Day - Use the Mother's Day event to engage your students in approximating, reasoning, and investigating as students estimate how much is ...
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Mother's Day ideas (14 activities)
Effects of new MLB rules
Students use our recent data to graph, analyze and hypothesize about the affect of the new MLB rule changes ...
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Effects of new MLB rules
Guacamole for Cinco de Mayo
This activity involves recipe analysis, pricing, and comparison. Students gather the ingredients for a famous recipe and analyze how much it would cost to make it at home versus buying ...
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Guacamole for Cinco de Mayo
New bust of King Charles … in chocolate
Saturday, King Charles will be crowned as the King of the United Kingdom. Artists at the Mars Wrigley company made a gorgeous chocolate bust of the King wearing his military ...
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New bust of King Charles ... in chocolate
Wheel of Theodorus
Bring a little art into your math class as you begin to use the Pythagorean theorem and your students first meet irrational numbers ...
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Wheel of Theodorus
The HAT tessellation
An Einstein aperiodic tile has just been discovered.  Find out what that means and why it is significant.  Plus - play with the tiles.  Do you want to tile your ...
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The HAT tessellation
Earth Day actions for our planet
We have 16 activities that you could use for Earth Day! Saturday, April 22nd is Earth Day. Help your students become activists for our planet? We have 16 activities that support recycling, ...
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Earth Day actions for our planet
Tax time, Patriots Day, Boston Marathon
The middle of April is a busy and interesting time. We have 6 timely activities to try in your classes ...
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Tax time, Patriots Day, Boston Marathon
Time to make your prom clothes … with Duck Tape
Admire the possibilities of Duck Tape attire and calculate the cost of some of the outfits in time and tape ...
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Time to make your prom clothes ... with Duck Tape
Spring and Easter ideas – 6 activities
Dyeing eggs with food coloring - Students use the chart on the back of a food dye package to compare the strangely different recipes listed for coloring a cake, icing, ...
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Spring and Easter ideas - 6 activities
Passover starts on Wednesday
Two activities involving fraction halving, doubling, and tripling operations with recipes for Passover. Students end up creating a huge matzo ball ...
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Passover starts on Wednesday
Challenges for April Fools Day
This day is known for pranks and puzzles.   Try one of these 4 activities on April Fools Day. Ask students to analyze where I made my mistake     ...
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Challenges for April Fools Day
What is an atmospheric river (AR)?
Atmospheric Rivers! How are they ranked? Students become familiar with this weather phenomena and learn how they are measured. To more fully understand their power, students compare the strength of ...
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What is an atmospheric river (AR)?
How hard it is to pick the perfect bracket?
If you try to predict how the games will play out by filling out a bracket, what are your chances of picking every game? How does the change from 64 to ...
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How hard it is to pick the perfect bracket?
March Equinox – big deal? … and 5 more Spring activities
Brand new! What's with the March Equinox? Does it really affect our lives? Is it just some astronomical occurrence? Students calculate the daylight hours at the March Equinox by time ...
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March Equinox - big deal? ... and 5 more Spring activities
March Madness – Does seeding really matter?
Engage your students in percents as they get excited about March Madness. Is getting a higher seed really an advantage?  Use 30 years of data to help determine for which seeds ...
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March Madness - Does seeding really matter?
How hard is it to find a 4 leaf clover? (3 Saint Patrick’s Day activities)
We have 3 Saint Patrick's Day activities for your math class. How hard is it to find 4-leafed clovers, the nutritional values of a Shamrock Shake, and measuring parts per ...
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How hard is it to find a 4 leaf clover? (3 Saint Patrick's Day activities)
Just some March Madness math
This is the first of several activities about March Madness. Figuring percents, bar graphs, trends, big numbers, and probability ...
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Just some March Madness math
Daylight savings time
Will you wake up and go to sleep earlier or later on that Sunday? What kind of chart or picture could you draw to help you compare before and after ...
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Daylight savings time
Two 12s or one 18?
Which should we order and why? Two 12-inch pizzas or one 18-inch pizza?  Which will give you more pizza? More crust? Which is the better deal? ...
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Two 12s or one 18?
Square or Round – which pizza should I buy?
Warm up for π day with this updated activity! If that slice from Sbarro is from an 18-inch pizza cut into eight pieces, which deal is better when comparing area ...
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Square or Round - which pizza should I buy?
Iditarod 2023 – The Last Great Race on Earth
The Iditarod Dogsled Race will begin this year on Saturday, March 4th in Anchorage, Alaska. It is often called The Last Great Race on Earth because it is so long and grueling. Students ...
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Iditarod 2023 – The Last Great Race on Earth
Population Pyramids – What can you surmise?
The distribution of a population's age and gender data can tell you a lot about a society's history, current situation, and future. What do you see happening here? The activity: ...
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Population Pyramids - What can you surmise?
Mardi Gras and Presidents’ Day
How much are US presidents paid? Step graph. Fair? Mardi Gras, meaning, parades, beads, value, cost, reuse, environment ...
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Mardi Gras and Presidents' Day
Valentine’s Day (11 activities)
Have a heart Canstruction - Students use reasoning and approximation to analyze the number of cans of food contained in this one giant heart.  Consider starting out the activity by showing ...
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Valentine's Day (11 activities)
Turkey-Syrian Earthquake + Richter scale
On February 6th, Turkey and Syria were hit with a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake. What does a 7.8 magnitude earthquake imply? What's a seismometer?  What is the amplitude of a ...
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James St. John - https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/52672742354/
Chocolate heart-shaped raspberry cake
For Valentine's Day, bake a cake. Students calculate base area or volume of cakes made from 2 cake pan sizes and observe how the volume of the cake changes with ...
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Chocolate heart-shaped raspberry cake
Super Bowl Activities (10 activities)
We have 10 great super bowl activities for your math classes ...
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Super Bowl Activities (10 activities)
Sweetheart candies
How many dollars worth of sweetheart candies used to be sold each Valentine's season? How much is one candy worth? After Valentine's Day their price is reduced. How much are ...
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Sweetheart candies
Typical Super Bowl scores
In this activity students study historical Super Bowl data to reflect on average (mean, median, and mode), losing scores, winning scores, and range of scores. They are asked to judge which of ...
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Typical Super Bowl scores
Ground Hog day
How often does Punxsutawney Phil get it right? Relative frequency! A cute animal will make your students smile as they calculate the relative frequency of Phil's correct past predictions ...
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Ground Hog day
Powerball, Mega Millions, and probability
Recently the Mega millions' jackpot was won in Maine at 1.35 billion dollars.  Last year, someone won 2.04 billion dollars in Powerball.   Students examine compound probability and decide whether ...
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Powerball, Mega Millions, and probability
Throwing Up 2023
It's hard to shovel new snow when you have to get your shovel-full over previous snow banks. You have to throw the snow practically straight up. Predict the arc of ...
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Throwing Up 2023
Lunar New Year 2023
A combination of 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches, the year's symbol creates a sequence of year names that eventually repeat. Students explore the least common multiple of these ...
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Lunar New Year 2023
Median age of country populations
The median age of countries is used to predict the future needs of each country. What are the ramifications of a predominately young population or a predominantly older population,  Why ...
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Median age of country populations
MLK and efforts towards racial justice
Timelines for the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr.  - Students create one of two timelines about Martin Luther King Jr's life or the efforts in America to ...
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MLK and efforts towards racial justice
Big bucks 2023
Huge sports contracts! We often hear about big player contracts. Who makes the most per year? Per game? What sports? ...
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Big bucks 2023
Earth’s perihelion with the Sun
Today, Wednesday, January 4th, 2023, Earth will be as close as it gets to the Sun during its orbit. Shouldn't that make this the warmest time of the year? In ...
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Earth's perihelion with the Sun
Is 2023 a special number?
What do you notice about 2023? What is a Harshad number? Does 2023 meet the criteria? Big deal?  Rare?  Often?   ...
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Is 2023 a special number?
The Times Square Ball
What does truncation mean? How is the Times Square Ball related to an icosahedron? Let students learn about the crystals and the LEDs that create this beautiful construction ...
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The Times Square Ball
Beautiful mathematics
Color, measure, design, Sierpinski, spirals, Pythagorean triples, hexadecimal color codes, fractals, string design, modular math, Pascal's triangle, Fibonacci, polyhedra, build an eclipse ... Enjoy! ...
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Beautiful mathematics
Before the holidays (16 activities)
We have tons (well, 16) of activities to bring to your class in this last week before the holiday break. Movies, science, art, cooking, economics, weather and the logic of ...
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Before the holidays  (16 activities)
How many feet of lights should I buy for my tree?
In this 3-act task, your class guesses how many feet of lights you will need to light your tree. Then gather data from groups and find means or medians. Then ...
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How many feet of lights should I buy for my tree?
Winter Solstice 2022
How is the amount of darkness now related to your location on Earth? Understanding the Winter Solstice. 7.G.3, HSG.C, HSG.GMD.4, HSG.MG.1 ...
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Winter Solstice 2022
Three Hanukkah activities
Three great activities to play and learn about Hanukkah. Soda displays, Hebrew calendar, and relating two recipes for their healthiness ...
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Three Hanukkah activities
Do I have enough wrapping paper?
In this problem based activity students first guess and then try to calculate whether they will have enough paper to wrap this present without taping pieces of wrapping paper together. I ...
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Do I have enough wrapping paper?
Wind chill
Students use the National Weather Service's chart to look for patterns, make predictions, decide how many ways the wind-chill could be -22 degrees F, and compare the formula's outcome with ...
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Wind chill
The Algebra of Magic Squares
Students examine Magic Squares for how they could help with math computation practice and having fun ...
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The Algebra of Magic Squares
Major announcement !
YummyMath will retire on January 1st, 2024 ...
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Major announcement !
Whole lot of cookies
Jennifer Fairbanks from Hopkinton, MA sent us this picture of the cookies that she baked in 4 hours using 13 eggs and 5 cups of sugar. Do you see some ...
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Whole lot of cookies
Buy, buy, buy and ship (8 ideas)
Here comes Black Friday, Small business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.  It's a crazy time of year.  Use all of that shopping to educate your students about good deals ...
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Buy, buy, buy and ship (8 ideas)
Thanksgiving, shopping, football and giving
How should I cook my turkey? - Students judge timing, cost, tastiness, and quantity necessary as they plan for the feast. 4.MD.1, 5.NBT.7, 4.MD2, 6.RP.3, 6.NS.3, 7.NS.3  Great video on a deep ...
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Thanksgiving, shopping, football and giving
World Cup 2022 – Qatar (2 activities)
The World Cup of Soccer begins November 20, 2022. We have two different activities involving the logic of setting up a fair draw and the number of matches that each ...
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World Cup 2022 - Qatar (2 activities)
Lots of Cranberries
In this activity, students learn about how cranberries are grown and harvested; estimate their size and quantities; and see what they can deduce from published statistics ...
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Lots of Cranberries
Total lunar eclipse
On the morning of November 8, 2022, many of us will be able to see the last full lunar eclipse until March 2025. Luckily, many of us will be able ...
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Total lunar eclipse
How big could this mid-term election be?
Will the November 8th election bring record number of voters to the polls? Students get a chance to understand what the usual percentage of voters is, look for trends and ...
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How big could this mid-term election be?
I need help raking my leaves
In this activity students see the inverse relationship between number of workers and time to complete the whole job. They graph hyperbolas and consider how long the extreme condition of ...
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I need help raking my leaves
Halloween activities
14 Activities How well can you predict your candy haul? - Students consider how to determine their best predictions of their candy haul.  The math ideas of measurement error and ...
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Halloween activities
The size of chocolates
In time for Halloween, students assume that all of our pieces of chocolate are about the same thickness and proceed to approximate their volumes by comparing only their surface areas.  ...
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The size of chocolates
Inflation and the cost of gasoline
In 1980, a gallon of gas costs $1.22.  Today's prices are a lot higher.  Is that because the price has gone up or because in 1980 you could buy a ...
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Inflation and the cost of gasoline
Participation in Halloween activities
Students analyze the ratios and percents of population, participation, and money spent in honor of October 31st.  This activity takes kids through finding parts of wholes as well as ratio, ...
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Participation in Halloween activities
Giant Pumpkins 2022
Sts use proportions to calculate the quantities of pumpkin puree and the number of pumpkin pies that could be made from one of these giant pumpkins ...
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Giant Pumpkins 2022
Indigenous Peoples or Columbus Day
Sts learn a little history, question what they have learned earlier, and calculate how far off Columbus was from East India and his understanding of the actual circumference of the ...
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Indigenous Peoples or Columbus Day
Are hurricanes getting stronger and more frequent?
Updated! In this updated hurricane activity, we've ask students to examine the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale and consider what other elements besides this ranking may contribute to the devastation that ...
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Are hurricanes getting stronger and more frequent?
Do teams that spend a lot win a lot?
In this activity students compare team wins with team salaries in the four major North American sports ... the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL.  Students use data from recent seasons ...
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Do teams that spend a lot win a lot?
Little Amal
With refugees trying to survive hardships by traveling away from their homes, the story of Little Amal is powerful and touching. There is lots of math in creating an 11 ...
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Little Amal
Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones
This week Hurricane Fiona caused major damage to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, This is the season for increased cyclonic activity around the globe.  How are hurricanes, typhoons, ...
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Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones
How much caffeine are you consuming?
We asked students to examine the sources of caffeine in their diets and calculate the number of servings that they actually consume ...
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How much caffeine are you consuming?
How many gumballs are there?
Get your students thinking, estimating, and calculating ...
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How many gumballs are there?
Macy’s Star Rewards Points
Wow! Check out this deal at Macy's.  For $25 I can join Macy's Star Rewards program.  I get 10% back in rewards for every dollar I spend.  Its pretty cool that ...
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Macy’s Star Rewards Points
Willy Makeit or Betty Wont
Finally! I see a bathroom sign! Wait ... it is in kilometers? How far is that? Should I run? ...
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Willy Makeit or Betty Wont
What is Artemis 1 and when will it launch?
In this activity, students try to decipher several graphics that explain the flight path of the Artemis mission and make comparisons about what has been accomplished before and what is ...
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What is Artemis 1 and when will it launch?
Labor Day 2022
What is this holiday about?  Are we celebrating the start of school?  New cars? The end of summer? In this short activity, students learn about the intended meaning of Labor ...
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Labor Day 2022
Someone ate my cake
In this fraction operation and representation activity, students are asked to decide how much of my cake was eaten. Using fraction multiplication (or angle measure if that is where you ...
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Someone ate my cake
Will sending you back to school this year cost a fortune?
In this activity students decide what equipment and supplies are necessary, estimate how much that will all cost, confer with classmates to refine their lists, and then research to find ...
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Will sending you back to school this year cost a fortune?
But it didn’t sell?
<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span> A&W offered a bigger, tastier burger but it didn't succeed in grabbing customers away from the hugely popular McDonald's ...
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But it didn't sell?
Hexadecimal coloring
Probably most of us have heard of and even used hexadecimal color codes. Don't you wonder why their number descriptions really make sense? In this activity we first ask students ...
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Hexadecimal coloring
How much pee is in this pool?
A Canadian chemist, Xing-Fang Li, has found a marker for urine that chlorine doesn't disguise. In this activity, students calculate volume of several pools, change that cubic foot volume to gallons ...
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How much pee is in this pool?
Where should I drop my puck
Act 1 - Give students time to view the game board above or give them our one-page activity. The above picture is larger when you click on it. Ask students ...
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Where should I drop my puck
The James Webb space telescope and the Hubble
There have been outstanding images coming to NASA from the James Webb Telescope. Take some time to compare the Webb to the Hubble telescope that has been sending images to ...
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The James Webb space telescope and the Hubble
Some fun summer activities
These are an assortment of spacial puzzles, artistic math coloring and understanding, order of operations play, and a seemingly magic math game ...
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Some fun summer activities
Sunday, July 17th, is National Ice Cream Day
In this activity, we've created two small tasks to challenge your students. If you know how much ice cream is eaten every year, how much is the "average" American eating? ...
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Sunday, July 17<sup>th</sup>, is National Ice Cream Day
Should I buy a gasoline, hybrid, or electric car
Should you buy a hybrid or an electric car to save money and the planet? Students create equations for finding the break-even points of these vehicles by mileage and years ...
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Should I buy a gasoline, hybrid, or electric car
4th of July
Hot dog eating; Flag art; Fireworks on your calculator; Creating a 5-pointed star with one cut; and a possible new, 52-star flag ...
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4th of July
Mallie’s latest Big Burger
Students learn about the initial weight of the giant meat patty and calculate the final weight of the patty after it is cooked.  They decide what percent lean this meat ...
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Mallie's latest Big Burger
Father’s Day, Juneteenth, and The Longest Day (summer solstice)
We have two Father's Day activities, a Juneteenth activity, and a revised (and shortened) Longest Day/Summer Solstice activity ...
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Father's Day, Juneteenth, and The Longest Day (summer solstice)
Gauss and our star of stars
How many stars are in this image and how did you count them? ...
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Gauss and our star of stars
How old are you?
We usually give our ages in years, but that isn't very precise is it?  In this activity students find their age in days, hours and minutes.  First students take two ...
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How old are you?
Why isn’t the World Cup happening now?
The World Cup Finals is only played every 4 years but isn't it always in June? The World Cup Finals 2022 will be played in Qatar from November 21 until ...
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Why isn't the World Cup happening now?
NBA Finals 2022
A little sports history and data analysis through the context of NBA Finals math!  In this activity students consider scatter plots, circle graphs, bar graphs, Venn Diagrams and the concept ...
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NBA Finals 2022
Taking two discounts off (2 activities)
Students check out if getting 50% off and then a 20% discount will give them 70% off. Why does that happen? ...
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Taking two discounts off (2 activities)
The odds of horse race betting
Rich Strike surprised everyone at the Kentucky Derby horse race in early May by moving from 18th place at the half-way mark (out of 20 horses) to winning the race. Churchill ...
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The odds of horse race betting
When will they collide?
Show the video to your class. Give students time to complain and talk about seeing this commercial.  Then take guesses from students about the actual time it would take to ...
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When will they collide?
Happy Friday the 13th!
Don't worry, 13 is a Happy number! Students learn a new function and test whether a number is Happy or Sad. The activity: Friday-the-13th.pdf CCSS: 5.OA, 6.EE, 8.F, MP1, MP7, ...
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Happy Friday the 13th!
Shooting for Three
The NBA court has a 3-point line that separates how many points a player will earn for his team by making a basket from outside of that line. Teams have ...
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Shooting for Three
What time should I wake up?
Surprise Mother's Day breakfast in bed! I think she would like orange juice, scrambled eggs, biscuits, and hot coffee. I’ll add some flowers from outside and fruit to make it ...
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What time should I wake up?
Comedian
What do you think this activity might be about? What do you wonder? How much would you pay for this piece of art? How much profit is involved in this ...
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Comedian
Who has the greatest Men’s March Madness program?
The Kansas Jayhawks just won the finals of this year's March Madness tournament. Which NCAA teams have had the best basketball programs over the years.  Students decide which stats count ...
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Who has the greatest Men's March Madness program?
How big of a crepe can you make?
At Costco you can buy this huge tub of nutella.  It contains nearly 7 pounds of chocolaty-hazelnut spread. We use nutella to make banana/nutella crepes.  How long will that tub ...
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How big of a crepe can you make?
Mental math tricks – part 2
36 x 25 = 900     480 x 25 =12,000    924 x 2.5 = 2,310 Can you see any tricks for doing these calculations in your head? The ...
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Mental math tricks - part 2
April Fool’s Day fun
Try one of these 4 activities on April Fools Day. Where did that extra dollar go? Mystical Mathematical Mind Reader; perplexing missing square in the triangle; and Robert Kaplinsky's foil ...
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April Fool's Day fun
Refugees from Ukraine
Civilian Ukrainians are fleeing the war zone in order to remain safe and find food and housing.  How do these numbers compare with other tragic evacuations. While interpreting graphics and ...
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Refugees from Ukraine
What is my best gasoline option?
Should I pay the membership fee and get BJ's gasoline?  Should I just buy the cheaper gas at Sheetze? Students figure out the best deals with a membership fee, a ...
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What is my best gasoline option?
When will WORDLE run out of words?
Have you played WORDLE yet? Why do you suppose that this game is so popular? When will there be no new 5-letter words to try? ...
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When will WORDLE run out of words?
Shrinkflation
Inflation in the cost of living, last year (2021) was estimated to be about a 7%. If "shrinkflation" is happening at the same time as general inflation, is the unit ...
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Shrinkflation
Mardi Gras, 2023
In New Orleans revelers throw and collect purple, green, and gold beads. Students get a chance to examine the monetary and environmental cost of this bead exuberance with our unit ...
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Mardi Gras, 2023
Crazy Twos (Two to the…s)
Let your students practice manipulating exponents. Multiplication, division, roots, powers of powers.  This powerful activity asks them to do some impressive mathematics ... in their heads ...
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Crazy Twos (Two to the…s)
February 22, 2022
Why do you suppose we are posting this date as a topic for YummyMath? What do you think is so special about this date? Does this happen often?  When might ...
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February 22, 2022
Winter Olympic Activities (7 activities)
Curling - Friction, score-keeping, trajectory and weirdness are the main concepts in this activity.  Curling is not a well-understood sport but the science and strategy are easily understood and enjoyed ...
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Winter Olympic Activities (7 activities)
The LUGE
This is one of the fastest Olympic sports. Lugers, on tiny sleds, zoom down a solid ice track at fantastic speeds, hold their bodies in an aerodynamically optimized position while ...
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The LUGE
Olympic Schedule
The Winter Olympics begins this week in Beijing. Wikipedia had this schedule of events. We think that there is a lot of information missing and apparent in this graphic. What ...
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Olympic Schedule
Cold NFL games
There have been some pretty cold football games. How do you suppose the frigid temperatures affect the success or failure of the teams that are involved? Do teams from colder ...
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Cold NFL games
Lighting the 2022 Olympic Torch
This activity introduces students to the power of a parabolic mirror in focusing the Sun's rays to a single, hot, point ... the focus of the parabola ...
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Lighting the 2022 Olympic Torch
Spider-Man continues
How much did it cost to make? How much will it gross? Is the Spider-Man phenomena a guarantee for success? How would you compare all of the Spider-Man movies? ...
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Spider-Man continues
Mystical Mathematical Mind Reader
The GHOST WHISPERER now has a replacement!!!! John Tranter of Transum Mathematics has created the Mythical Mathematical Mind Reader and we've updated our activity to accompany the fun ...
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Mystical Mathematical Mind Reader
Super Bowl Numerals
Introduce Roman numerals to your class.  In this activity students learn the rules for evaluating Roman numerals, decipher copyright dates, see how Roman numerals are used today, and do some ...
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Super Bowl Numerals
Bowl by the hour or the game?
Students consider the posted pricing of this bowling alley. What must they consider when choosing how to pay? What do you expect will be the best deal? How do you ...
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Bowl by the hour or the game?
Home team advantage?
Ask students whether they think a game played at home gives their team an advantage.  If so, how much of an advantage?  Enjoy the discussion first, then show them our ...
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Home team advantage?
Activities for the Holiday break
Students work with the geodesic icosahedron of the Time's Square Ball by slicing an icosahedron. How are properties valued according to their distance from GO in the game of Monopoly? ...
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Activities for the Holiday break
What’s interesting about this number?
What is interesting about the number, 12 22 21 ... and why did we put it on YummyMath today? ...
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What's interesting about this number?
Will one roll be enough?
Students can use the man or the basket as a reference as they try to approximate the size of these gifts and how much wrapping paper will actually be needed ...
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Will one roll be enough?
Holiday shipping
These two companies carry a lot of our packages. What can you tell about them by the numbers? Does delivering a little percent late really equal to not many packages ...
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Holiday shipping
What can you tell about a snowflake?
As a snowflake falls from the sky, its crystal grows according to the humidity and temperatures of the air that it passes through. In this activity, students interpret a graphic ...
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What can you tell about a snowflake?
Wrapping presents on the diagonal
In this activity students determine if this method for minimizing wrapping paper is actually more efficient then the traditional method. For a hands on learning experiment, have students actually wrap ...
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Wrapping presents on the diagonal
Hanukkah is almost here! – updated
Updated 2022! Hanukkah begins on Sunday, December 18th this year. Why is the date always different? Students look at the Hebrew calendar and appreciate the incredible mathematics involved in creating ...
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Hanukkah is almost here! - updated
2 New Macy’s Parade balloons
Students figure out the dimensions of these two new balloons using Macy's hints and judging from the handlers' sizes ...
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2 New Macy's Parade balloons
Shopping season already!
We used to see holiday sales right after Thanksgiving but, surprisingly, holiday shopping has already begun. Sales are advertised everywhere.  Students will be able to add some understanding and analysis ...
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Shopping season already!
Veterans Day 2021
Here are two very different maps about where Veterans live in the U.S. and which states have the largest density of Veterans citizens. What do these two maps make you ...
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Veterans Day 2021
End of Daylight Savings time confusion
In this activity students try to figure out how time settings will change as they move from place to place and what variables are involved in the daylight savings time ...
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End of Daylight Savings time confusion
Collecting the most candy
Use your student’s Halloween enthusiasm to do a study on volumes.  We’ve created an activity that asks students to calculate the volume of candy containers that are silly and intriguing ...
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Collecting the most candy
I should have invested!
Students use yearly percent increase data to decide which stock: Apple, Disney or Amazon, they should have invested in way back in 2015. What was the net gain of these ...
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I should have invested!
Which sale would you rather use?
In this short activity, students decide if these two sales are the same. If not, which is better? How would you explain this to someone? ...
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Which sale would you rather use?
Federal debt and deficit – What are they?
What's the big deal with our national debt?  Do we actually borrow money to cover our debt?  If we do, imagine the interest charges? Help your students (and their families) ...
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Federal debt and deficit - What are they?
Chuck E. Cheese needed to shred
Chucky E. Cheese needed to shred 7 billion tickets at a cost of 2.3 million dollars. Was this the real cost of shredding them? ...
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Chuck E. Cheese needed to shred
Watson saves
Students use the Pythagorean Theorem with Ben Watson's incredible tackle to figure out how far he must have run. Truly phenomenal play! ...
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Watson saves
Fall Equinox 2021
Updated for 2021! Tuesday, September 22, 2021 at 19:21 UTC (which is the same as 3:21 am EST), will be the Autumnal Equinox.  It is the time of year when the ...
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Fall Equinox 2021
Death Valley, CA – How hot was it?
Take a guess at what the Fahrenheit reading on this sign must have been. How did you make that guess? Use the Fahrenheit conversion formula to calculate the missing number ...
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Death Valley, CA - How hot was it?
Monarch’s are flying south again
In mid-August and early September, the Monarch butterflies begin their annual migration south to more moderate climates to hibernate and overwinter.  It is an incredibly long migration and fascinating to ...
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Monarch's are flying south again
Viral Growth – Talk like a Pirate Day
Sunday, September 19th is talk like a pirate day. Bring some humor and marketing understanding into your class with this activity about a silly holiday that has had viral growth ...
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Viral Growth - Talk like a Pirate Day
Steepness and fall hiking
Combine colorful and cool fall hiking with a little mathematics about percent grade change. What is a steep grade? Why is it in percent? How does grade change relate to ...
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Steepness and fall hiking
Just ONE hot dog
A newly released nutritional and environmentally sustainable study shows that eating just one hot dog can take 36 minutes off your total healthy lifespan. How many would you have to ...
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Just ONE hot dog
Back to school activities
Who's going back to school? - Students calculate the historical changes in U.S. population percentages of people who are going back to school and try to formulate reasons for these variations. 6.EE, ...
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Back to school activities
Haiti’s earthquake and the Richter scale
On August 14th, Haiti was hit with a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake. What does a 7.2 magnitude earthquake imply? What's a seismometer.  What is the amplitude of a seismograph and ...
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Haiti's earthquake and the Richter scale
That’s a big tomato!
These Aussi tomatoes (the tomato on the left of all of the tomatoes) are huge.  How much do you guess one weighs? Can you figure it out? ...
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That's a big tomato!
Let’s learn to gerrymander
In this activity student try to redistrict our pretend state in order to preserve the overall state's leanings in its new districting plan.  Then students redistrict the same state in ...
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Let's learn to gerrymander
How many athletes brought home no medal?
Probably most of the athletes that went to Tokyo didn't win a Gold, Silver, or Bronze medal.  We couldn't find any numbers about these people.  Can you figure it out ...
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How many athletes brought home no medal?
The new R-naught number
Now we're plagued with the Delta variant of the coronavirus.  What was the original virus' R-naught number and what has it become? ...
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The new R-naught number
The drag in swimming – 5 Olympics activities
To win in Olympic swimming, contestants have to be incredibly fit and have marvelous endurance and technique.  Do they also need to consider the science of their motions and their ...
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The drag in swimming - 5 Olympics activities
Need to rent some chaise lounges
Here's the rental sign. How much will 6 lounges and 2 umbrellas cost? ...
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Need to rent some chaise lounges
Olympic Skateboarding + more
We are very excited to see skateboarding as an event in the Tokyo Olympics.  Skateboarding is athletic, artistic and difficult to master.  Why has it taken so long to become ...
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Olympic Skateboarding + more
Ranked Choice Voting in NYC
New York City is still tallying its election results for a new Mayor.  This year they tried Ranked Choice Voting.  What does that mean? How does that work?  What are ...
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Ranked Choice Voting in NYC
Betsy Ross’s 5-pointed star
Folding analysis to make Betsy Ross's 5-pointed star ...
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Betsy Ross's 5-pointed star
How much is a trillion dollars?
U.S. Congress is now debating how much money to approve on spending for infrastructure.  The numbers are between 1 and 3 trillion dollars. I can't even fathom that amount of ...
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How much is a trillion dollars?
Penny Wars anew
Students judge from apparent diameters and penny heights, which jar has the most money. Mrs. Mercado had 3 pictures of scales with two jars on each balance. That is another ...
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Penny Wars anew
What is Juneteenth?
You can appreciate why this is such a great celebration when you look at the stages and some of the events and dates of America moving towards freedom from slavery ...
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What is Juneteenth?
Do caffeinated drinks have similar amounts of jolt?
We found this interesting caffeine infographic at visual.ly. Wonderings? How many McDonalds coffees do I need to get the same amount of caffeine that I would get in a Starbucks coffee? ...
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Do caffeinated drinks have similar amounts of jolt?
Payday loans – What are they?
What is a payday loan? How is it different from a bank loan or debt on a credit card? Is this a good idea? ...
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Payday loans - What are they?
Monopoly and summer games
In the board game, Monopoly, does a property’s distance from GO correlate to its rent when you land on it? Using Brian’s spread sheet (list of properties, distance from GO, ...
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Monopoly and summer games
Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest
Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held each July 4th since 1972. What do you wonder about this event? What questions do you have from looking at all ...
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Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest
Tree for Springtime
Here in the Northeast, flowers are blooming and trees are leafing out. We thought the creation of a tree that grows before your eyes might be akin to what is ...
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What is happening here?
Can I get your order right?
Updated! You can order a ton of combos at Chipotle.  They advertise that there are 65,000 ways to order their meals.  Do you think that is correct? ...
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Can I get your order right?
AQI – Air Quality Index
The AQI is a measurement of how much particulate matter, dangerous ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide there is in the world's atmosphere at any one time and ...
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AQI - Air Quality Index
How much did the tooth fairy give you when you lost a tooth?
What was the going tooth rate in your house? Do you think that, on average, you were paid well or were you disappointed?  Was your first tooth lost especially remunerative? ...
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How much did the tooth fairy give you when you lost a tooth?
It’s tick time again … and Lyme disease
Spring is the start of tick encounters. Help students study the prevalence of Lyme disease in the US; in their own state; and methods for preventing it. What are your ...
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Deer tick
Does an NFL player’s draft order mean a lot for the player?
Students interpret the graph relating draft pick number and contract value. They consider how much being selected earlier or later, either by a few picks or rounds effects a player's ...
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Does an NFL player's draft order mean a lot for the player?
Shoprite’s solar energy goals on the African continent
Shoprite is the largest supermarket chain in Africa.  The company is presently engaged in increasing their use of solar power to harness the abundant natural resource of solar potential on ...
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Shoprite's solar energy goals on the African continent
Will our U.S. flag change yet again?
How many stripes are in our present flag pictured above?  (The bottom right flag that has been in use since 1960.) How many stars? What do the numbers of stars ...
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Will our U.S. flag change yet again?
Man paid in 500 pounds of greasy pennies!
In this 3-act activity, students learn about the story, watch a PowerPoint presentation about the issue, and try to calculate the amount of money in this pile. Copper pennies, zinc ...
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Man paid in 500 pounds of greasy pennies!
Peeps
This activity is a investigation intended to get students and teachers to loosen up a little and appreciate how just considering a situation might lead you to a very reasonable ...
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Peeps
How many scoops do I need?
In this 3-act activity, students need to invent a different way to measure the powdered chocolate than what the instructions dictate. How many 1/4th teaspoonsfuls of powder = 2 teaspoons? ...
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How many scoops do I need?
Dunkin’s Go2s
Simultaneous equations with a Dunkin Donuts' sandwich deal. Do you have enough information to solve it? ...
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Dunkin's Go2s
8 cold and snowy activities
How much snow is that? - How many inches of snow produced that pile?  How much snow in volume is on top of the car?  How much could that snow weigh? Approximation, ...
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8 cold and snowy activities
John Urschel, retired Baltimore Raven and Black mathematician
In this activity, students can learn about this mathematician and retired pro football player as they read to create a timeline of his life and accomplishments.  They compare his milestone ...
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John Urschel, retired Baltimore Raven and Black mathematician
At least the days are getting longer
What's your guess?  How fast are the number of daylight hours changing each day?  Are the changes dramatic or subtle? Students make guesses; compute how long, on average, the change in ...
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At least the days are getting longer
How should I spend my rewards?
For every dollar that you spend, you accumulate points.  You can cash them in for savings on groceries, apply them to your gasoline purchases, or even use them to give ...
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How should I spend my rewards?
Lots of pieces
Brian has a lot of puzzles.  His family must love working on them. What do you wonder about his puzzles? What do you notice? Make an educated guess, about how ...
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Lots of pieces
Crazy basketball score
Wow! Look at that score! There were some scoreboard malfunctions in this December 15, 2020, pre-season game. What might have been the final score if this game progressed at this ...
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Crazy basketball score
Inauguration Date
The date of the Presidential Inauguration this year can be written in an interesting way. What do you notice?  What do you wonder?  Do you think that this happens often ...
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Inauguration Date
How much snow is that?
Start this activity with: What do you notice? What do you wonder? How many inches of snow produced that pile?  How much snow in volume is on top of the car?  How ...
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How much snow is that?
Will 2021 be a “prime” year?
Will this be a prime year? We sure hope so. What do you have to do to check it out? ...
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Will 2021 be a "prime" year?
Winter solstice
Updated for 2021! Students appreciate how their latitude effects the darkness of their late afternoon location as they study the earth's tilt and the logic of daylight hours. Is latitude ...
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Winter solstice
December 21, 2020 – Great conjunction
Right now, just after sunset, in the southwest sky, you can check out the planets of Jupiter and Saturn as they get closer and closer to each other. They are ...
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December 21, 2020 - Great conjunction
Holiday soda displays
The holidays are coming! We found these timely soda displays made up entirely of 12-pack of Coca-Cola products. What questions do you have? Clicking on either image will show them ...
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Holiday soda displays
The new largest Lego set ever – The Roman Colosseum
Note: This is a remake of our 2014 and 2017 activities "How Much Does a Lego Cost?". How much could the Roman Colosseum Lego set cost ? Student first make ...
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The new largest Lego set ever - The Roman Colosseum
Black Friday
When shopping next Friday, students will be able to add some understanding and analysis to the trip after calculating savings in dollars and percents with this timely investigation ...
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Black Friday
Not enough mashed potatoes
Updated activity for Covid 19 appropriate Thanksgivings. Students change decimals to fractions, calculate ingredient measures for various-sized Thanksgiving servings, explain their thinking in calculating these figures, and judge how many ...
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Not enough mashed potatoes
Lots of Cranberries
In this timely activity, students learn about how cranberries are grown and harvested; estimate their size and quantities; and see what they can deduce from published statistics ...
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Lots of Cranberries
Canstruction
Just before Thanksgiving there are competitions all over the world to celebrate cool design, tricky engineering, and to donate a whole lot of food. How many cans does it take ...
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Canstruction
Ravensburger huge puzzle
Students surmise what the difficulty of a jig saw puzzle entails and use rate calculations to estimate finishing times. They try to confirm whether doubling the number of pieces really ...
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Ravensburger huge puzzle
5 Election activities
Is the Electoral College vote similar to the Popular vote?  The winner of the Presidential Popular vote (November 3, 2020) is not always the same as the winner of the ...
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5 Election activities
Vampire Bats
 Ooooo. Scary!  This is a slightly didactic activity on vampire bats.  We've given lots of interesting metric and customary unit facts and asked students to relate those sizes to more familiar ...
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Vampire Bats
Candy deals
We found big mixed bags of candy at really good prices ... we think. Students are asked to decide which would be the best deal and the worst deal on candy ...
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Candy deals
Is the Electoral College fair?
After showing the video consider asking your students what the grouping of students must have been for "colored pencils" to win the class electoral college?  Is there more than one ...
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Is the Electoral College fair?
Is the Electoral College vote similar to the Popular vote?
The winner of the Presidential Popular vote (November 3, 2020) is not always the same as the winner of the Electoral College vote (January 6, 2021). In this activity students ...
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Is the Electoral College vote similar to the Popular vote?
Electoral College vs. the popular vote
Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com Let your students see how votes really count with our activity on the Electoral College.  Can someone win the popular vote ...
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Electoral College vs. the popular vote
Monster cake
First, students need to find the surface area that the M&Ms cover in order to approximate how many M&Ms she needs to finish her cake. When Brian tried to make ...
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Monster cake
How much chocolate is left?
Fraction operations might be more interesting when it involves chocolate. Students reason and calculate what is left of these chocolate bars.  The bars are the same size but are molded ...
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How much chocolate is left?
2 Hiking Activities
Appalachian Trail Needs - Calculating the needs and rates involved in enduring this 2,168 mile trek. Steepness and Fall Hiking - Use a little mathematics about percent grade change in ...
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2 Hiking Activities
Can you show that the Pythagorean Theorem works?
Use this activity to help your students work through the meaning of the Pythagorean theorem. Pythagorean theorem experiences are often skill and drill work with contrived right triangle problems. In ...
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Can you show that the Pythagorean Theorem works?
Extreme weather 2020
Use the open number line and our lists of temperature extremes to make signed number operations and absolute value sensible. Students compare record high and low temps (integers) and use ...
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Extreme weather 2020
USPS needs help!
Students learn how the Postal Service is funded and try to decide how the USPS could earn more or spend less in their operation.  They finally get to think about ...
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USPS needs help!
Ramen noodle heist
In 2018, the trailer of a truck filled with Ramen noodles was stolen from a parking lot in Georgia. The trailer contents were valued at $98,000. What do you wonder ...
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Ramen noodle heist
Do you want to be an NBA virtual fan?
For health concerns, professional sports now have no actual live fans. To help generate the excitement and semblance of fans, some teams use cardboard cutouts of people.  Some use Zoom ...
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Do you want to be an NBA virtual fan?
How big is this hornet really?
Giant hornets have now migrated to North America. In this activity students take the hornet's measurements in millimeters and try to draw the hornet, life-sized, on centimeter graph paper. They ...
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How big is this hornet really?
It might be a good year to see the Perseid meteor shower
Catching a productive meteor shower can be a stunning experience.  On the evenings and mornings of August 11th, 12th and 13th there could be a very good show.  A last ...
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It might be a good year to see the Perseid meteor shower
Largest s’more ever!
What is reasonable.?  How many marshmallows are in this recipe?  How many people could this cookie feed? How many marshmallows could you eat? ...
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Largest s'more ever!
What does the data show?
When you look at the new case numbers of the Coronavirus in the U.S. and compare that with various world and national events and our present scientific understandings, what do ...
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What does the data show?
How much water should you be drinking?
Student develop and use formulas for calculating their water needs ...
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How much water should you be drinking?
How fast will my new puppy mature?
There is a new dog aging formula that depends on methyl markers that adhere to the DNA molecules of living things.  Now we know that dogs don't age as we ...
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How fast will my new puppy mature?
Does the new “Most Stuf” Oreo have an exorbitant amount of stuf?
How much more "stufed" are they compared to Triple Double Oreos, Double Stuf Oreos or even Original Oreos. Does this look yummy to you or gross?  Why are they filled ...
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Does the new "Most Stuf" Oreo have an exorbitant amount of stuf?
String design, ellipses, and orbital mechanics
Artistic way to encourage understanding of a conic section.  Participants physically build an ellipse by choosing two foci and sketching the figure through a loop of string. While stitching an ...
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String design, ellipses, and orbital mechanics
Coronavirus trends
Johns Hopkins University of Medicine has a team that maintains current maps and data about the Coronavirus.  They record changes and show trends of the virus activity throughout the World ...
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Coronavirus trends
Summer Solstice, the longest day
Sunday, June 21st, 2022 (Revised and updated) Sunrise on summer solstice at Stonehenge On Sunday, June 21st, at 5:13 am EDT, the Earth's North Pole will be tilted as far ...
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Summer Solstice, the longest day
National Donut Day
Two activities to help celebrate National Donut Day How many donuts is that = huge box of donuts to approximate. How have donuts changed = torus volume measurements, formula intuition, ...
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National Donut Day
I bought toilet paper online
Students use the pictures in this activity to approximate the size of this 16 roll package of bamboo toilet paper. They use comparison ratios with our Ruth Bader Ginsburg doll ...
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I bought toilet paper online
A socially-distanced party
I risked infecting my friends or becoming infected myself by throwing a very small socially-distanced party.  I served baked appetizers, disinfectant wipes, and latex gloves.  I cooked while wearing clean ...
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A socially-distanced party
May 27th launch from the U.S. again
NASA and SpaceX plan to launch humans from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to the International Space Station for the first time since July 11, 2011. This is a more current ...
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May 27<sup>th</sup> launch from the U.S. again
Fish tale, go figure!
I have two fish in my aquarium.  Betty is my white goldfish. She often stays really close to the front wall as she swims towards her food. Stripe, my clownfish, ...
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Fish tale, go figure!
Tiny vacuum with a huge reach
Wow! This vacuum can clean up to 2,800 square feet while using only one electrical outlet. How long must its cord be? ...
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Tiny vacuum with a huge reach
Sadly, Jorge passed away yesterday.
Jorge would have been 15 years old on May 5, 2020. We wondered how old that would have been in human years. Does that 7 times his dog years formula ...
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Sadly, Jorge passed away yesterday.
Microns and Masks
How big is a coronavirus cell? How big is a micron? How well do these masks protect against the virus? What can you observe about the size of particles mentioned? ...
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Microns and Masks
Stock Market headlines – Biggest losses since 2008
Biggest losses since 2008 - The Dow is measured in points but this decline can also be measured in the percentage lost.  Which way was the Dow being measured when ...
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Stock Market headlines - Biggest losses since 2008
World record Snickers Bar
This World Record Snickers Bar was created in late January at the Waco, Texas Mars Wrigley Plant. What proportions would be an accurate cross sections of this monster bar? How ...
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World record Snickers Bar
Mixing colors with food dye
It's time to dye eggs ... or make a rainbow colored cake. Proportions, saturation, hue and shade ...
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Mixing colors with food dye
Hoarding stopped!
A Danish market found an interesting way to limit hoarding of hand sanitizer. How much are these costs in your currency? What is the unit price on these bottles? By ...
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Hoarding stopped!
Pascal coloring and modular math
Clock math, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,1,2,3,4,5,6,7... is modular math. Let your students learn about the usefulness of modular math as they color and explore Pascal's Triangle. Very pretty math! ...
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Pascal coloring and modular math
Some of our activities that are good for at-home learning
We've got hundreds of great activities that demonstrate how math happens all around us.  Let your student choose an activity that interests him/her and enjoy the discoveries ...
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Some of our activities that are good for at-home learning
Is there much of a difference between 99.9% or 99.999%?
Use our present need for cleanliness to engage your students. Does it really matter whether you kill 99.9% of the bacteria or 99.999% of the germs? In this activity, we've ...
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Is there much of a difference between 99.9% or 99.999%?
Which gasoline is the cheapest?
A comparison of gasoline in Greece, priced at Euros per liter, and gas in Massachusetts at dollars per gallon. Price and liquid volume conversion using unit fractions ...
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Which gasoline is the cheapest?
How many delegates does each state get to send to the Democratic Convention?
Students reason about the meaning of this formula. They evaluate the formula for South Dakota and their state of choice to understand the weight of each state's power in choosing ...
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How many delegates does each state get to send to the Democratic Convention?
Gonna be a Leap Year
This year we will add the 29th of February to our year?  Why do we do that?  How can you tell?  What if we didn't add a day every 4 ...
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By George C. Baxley
K-Pop and BTS, how much can they earn from Youtube and Spotify?
How much could this K-pop group possibly earn on Youtube and Spotify? Unit ratio calculations. BTS ...
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K-Pop and BTS, how much can they earn from Youtube and Spotify?
Movies and the upcoming Oscars
Compounded percent change; central tendencies; the weight of Rapunzel's 70 feet of hair; Godzilla's height by comparison; how to measure the profitability of a movie series; most appropriate graphical representations; ...
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Movies and the upcoming Oscars
Do the best movies make the most money?
Do the "Best" movies make the most money?  How could you measure the "best" movie? What information would you need to make this judgement? At most ten movies are nominated each year to ...
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Do the best movies make the most money?
Expensive Super Bowl ads
What will a 30-second Super Bowl ad cost this year? Next year? In the future? How would you describe this rise in cost? ...
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Expensive Super Bowl ads
How steep is this treadmill?
In this very short activity, students get a memorable way to visualize a zero slope and an undefined slope ...
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How steep is this treadmill?
It’s Girl Scout cookie time again!
Totally new activity! Let your students talk about their favorite Girl Scout cookies as they figure out what the local GS chapter really earns from these sales.  Use this old ...
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It's Girl Scout cookie time again!
Wanna work for Uber?
Students examine the ads and decide what is and isn't said. Do the ads give enough information to make a decision? Which is the better deal? How do you know? ...
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Wanna work for Uber?
Three wrapping presents activities
3 activities about wrapping presents: On the diagonal, 3-act by estimation with iPhone, and judging sizes and needs by estimation with man and shopping basket ...
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Three wrapping presents activities
Star Wars … the story continues
The Rise of Skywalker will open on December 20, 2019.  How much did it cost to make?  How much will it gross? Is the Star Wars phenomena a guarantee for success? ...
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Star Wars ...  the story continues
The Forever Roll
Why would anyone need such a big roll of toilet paper?  How does it compare to Charmin's other toilet paper products? If this roll lasts for one month, how big ...
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The Forever Roll
How should I cook my turkey?
Bake it, deep fry it or barbecue it? When do I have to wake up to begin preparations? How long will the cooking take?  How much will it cost?  How many ...
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How should I cook my turkey?
How many Smashburgers?
There must be a million ways to craft one of these burgers. How many ways do you think that there are? ...
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How many Smashburgers?
Eliud Kipchoge runs marathon in 1:59:40.2
How have record marathon runs changed through the years?  Will those record times keep being broken?  Does the data help you predict? ...
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Eliud Kipchoge runs marathon in 1:59:40.2
Operation Gratitude – Halloween candy buy back
This is a great idea! Motivate kids to get rid of all of that candy for a good cause. Operation Gratitude and dentists are encouraging healthy eating, motivated giving, and ...
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Operation Gratitude – Halloween candy buy back
How long will it take you to trick-or-treat?
It's Halloween and this is your neighborhood. How long will it take you to trick or treat at every house in your neighborhood? Possible conversation with students: How long will ...
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How long will it take you to trick-or-treat?
How Much Halloween Candy Will You Collect?
Students consider how to determine the best candy haul prediction.  The math ideas of measurement error and percent error are introduced.  Students then predict their own Halloween candy collections numbers ...
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How Much Halloween Candy Will You Collect?
Make a costume from a sheet
I'm going to make a costume pattern to sell.  People can buy my plan and make awesome, long, full, scary, ghost costumes.  This scheme will be so simple.  Perhaps I'll ...
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Make a costume from a sheet
How much should the 40-oz size cost?
We found this chalkboard menu at a coffee shop recently. The shop had prices for the 12-oz (small), 16-oz (medium) and 20-ounce (large) cappuccinos.  And they will also make you ...
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How much should the 40-oz size cost?
Largest coffee, new world record
The world record for the largest cup of coffee was recently set (see picture above).  In this activity students explore scale, similar figures, volume and measurement as they estimate the ...
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Largest coffee, new world record
15 NFL Math activities!
Do teams that spend a lot win a lot?  -  Students compare team wins with team salaries in the four major North American sports ... the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL ...
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15 NFL Math activities!
When will he use up his chocolate milk account?
Brian's son buys chocolate milk every few days to go with his lunch. His school creates an invoice that they send to parents every month that show the status of ...
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When will he use up his chocolate milk account?
Drill bit fractions
Act One:  Drill bits are measured by the diameter of the bit in inches. The drill bits below are ordered left to right in increasing size. The numerators in the ...
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Drill bit fractions
Does it pay to get educated?
Updated! Why should students do well in school, graduate high school, or go on to college?  In this activity median earnings by various education levels are explored.  Students compare the ...
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Does it pay to get educated?
So just print some more money!
What's the big deal with our deficit? Do we actually borrow money to cover our debt? If we do, imagine the interest charges? Help your students (and their families) understand ...
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So just print some more money!
Who’s going back to school?
Updated! Students look at the past and present populations of the U.S. and the past and present population of school attendees to calculate the percentage of the population that are ...
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Who's going back to school?
Stacking Jack
Act One: Check out the video slide show.  What questions do you have? The Activity: Stacking Jack Suggested Question: How many different ways can I stack Jack?  That is, how many ...
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Stacking Jack
What’s the answer?
Math doesn't usually create a buzz on Twitter.  This past week this post did just that.  People argued online about whether the answer was 16 or 1 and proceeded to ...
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What's the answer?
Are original movies better than their sequels?
We've gathered some data on movie ratings and their sequels and asked students to analyze the data, decide on some analysis and debate (with their mathematical data) which are better ...
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Are original movies better than their sequels?
Bears Ears revisited
There is some beautiful land in Utah that was changed last year from federally protected land to Utah overseen land.  The buttes of Bears Ears (shown above) and the surrounding ...
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Bears Ears revisited
Point of view
If you have a set of cubes for your classroom, this would make a great group hands-on project. Its an old puzzle but the activity deserves a revisit. Below are ...
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Point of view
Louisiana
We recently watched the approach of Hurricane Barry and worried about the fate of Louisiana. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, what would another powerful hurricane do to this fragile ...
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Louisiana
All-you-can-eat ice cream … 10 cents!
All the ice cream that you can eat for only 10 cents!  Wow, that's a great deal!  How great a deal was that? The history of the Dairy Queen franchise ...
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All-you-can-eat ice cream ... 10 cents!
How can Nike give away so much great stuff?
Worldwide Nike supports many teams and athletes.  They design, manufacture, and supply gear for almost every sport imaginable. How much are those give-aways worth?  Is the company going to go ...
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How can Nike give away so much great stuff?
Spiraling squares – compass and straight edge
Can you see the many spirals in this design? Students calculate the size of each increasing round of squares and consider what sort of spirals these must be. The activity: ...
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Spiraling squares - compass and straight edge
How many baseballs are in this truck?
To see this poster larger in a new window, click on the image. In 2017, Old Dominion Freight Line offered 2 free tickets to the next 3 World Series to ...
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How many baseballs are in this truck?
NHL Playoff games can sure last a long time!
Revised! We're watching another Stanley Cup playoff now. Will there be any really long games during the playoffs? In 2013, a Stanley Cup playoff match between the Bruins and Blackhawks ...
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NHL Playoff games can sure last a long time!
Tornadoes 2019
Tornadoes have devastated the Midwest, U.S. in the last few days. Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Mississippi have been brutally hit with these powerful events. Involve ...
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Tornadoes 2019
Wow, everything must be free!
What happens when you take 50% off again after taking 50% off at first? Students examine this retailer trick of giving double discounts.  What happens to the price when you ...
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Wow, everything must be free!
Opening Weekend – Avengers: Endgame
Can you tell from its opening weekend how much the new movie, Avengers: Endgame, might earn in theaters?  This activity can be used anytime and is especially timely when there ...
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Opening Weekend - Avengers: Endgame
How long would it take to build this underground house and pool?
The building of this underground house and pool was presented by Cayote Person and his partner, Mark Lavins, on their youtube channel, "Brave Wilderness." At BraveWilderness.com the business partners post animal ...
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How long would it take to build this underground house and pool?
Are baseball games getting longer?
March 28th was opening day for this year's Major League Baseball season. It's a good time for some Major League Baseball math! In this activity students think about how major ...
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Are baseball games getting longer?
Big bucks
Mike Trout just signed a huge contract.  He'll be receiving $430 million dollars playing for 12 years with the Los Angeles Angels.  Let's take a look at some of the ...
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Big bucks
Huge Key Lime pie
More for π Day!  On a cold and snowy day in Boston, two chefs created a huge Key Lime pie to remind the frozen people of the Northeast how ...
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Huge Key Lime pie
Value of a lifetime of Whoppers?
Locked in a smelly bathroom for one hour and then promised a lifetime of Whopper meals, an Oregon man sued BK when the manager's promise was withdrawn. How much money ...
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Value of a lifetime of Whoppers?
President’s Pay for Presidents’ Day
The President's have only received a pay increase 5 times in the United States. Picture it with a step graph. Calculate the actual salary using the CPI (Consumer Price Index) ...
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President's Pay for Presidents' Day
Pythagorean Triples and coloring
Pythagorean triples are not only handy for students to recognize but produce some interesting and lovely patterns.  We've combined a little coloring with our Pythagorean Triple pattern investigation to let ...
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Pythagorean Triples and coloring
Choosing the NBA All-Star team
Updated for 2020!     The weekend of February 14 - 16 will be all about the NBA All-Stars. The two team captains are Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) and LeBron James (Los Angeles ...
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Choosing the NBA All-Star team
V-o-r-t-e-x
Use the extreme cold weather to practice and understand integer subtraction ...
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V-o-r-t-e-x
Checking in on LeBron
Now the that season is underway let’s check in on how Cleveland and the Lakers are doing since LeBron changed teams.  LeBron is arguably the best player in the NBA ...
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Checking in on LeBron
Huge diamond found in Canada
552-carat diamond found in Diavik Mine, Northwest Territories, Canada Can you tell just how big this gem is?  Do you know how big a carat is? What would this look ...
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Huge diamond found in Canada
New Horizons spacecraft just flew by a really distant asteroid
On January 1st, 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft passed close to Ultima Thule, a Kuiper Belt object that's a billion miles beyond Pluto. That milestone marked the most distant celestial ...
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New Horizons spacecraft just flew by a really distant asteroid
Digesting a Lego head
If you know the mean of data what does that tell you about the data's total ... with poop and a Lego head ...
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Digesting a Lego head
Moneymaking holiday movies
Which movie do you think is the highest grossing holiday movie of all time? Students analyze holiday movie data. They will round, estimate, compare, calculate percent increase, consider the most ...
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Moneymaking holiday movies
Weird wing prices
Clicking on this image will show it larger in a new window. Danny's Wok in Philadelphia has a huge price list for ordering their famous chicken wings. Why did they ...
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Weird wing prices
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade 2019
 As we get ready for next week's holiday, students can study a map of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, describe, measure and hypothesize why this route was chosen ...
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Macy's Thanksgiving Parade 2019
Fine
TJ Watt was fined for roughing the passer.  Check out the tweet from Darren Rovell and engage your students in a familiar context for a classic percent problem - solving ...
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Fine
Consumer spending 2018
Consumers in the U.S. spend a lot of money. In this activity we look at historical data to see if there are any patterns in our spending.  How does our ...
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Consumer spending 2018
Extra point or 2-point conversion – Updated
 In 2015 the NFL changed the extra point kick distance to 33 yards and now teams have a tough decision to make, go for one or two points?  The ...
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Extra point or 2-point conversion - Updated
Fantasy Football
In the midst of another NFL season, we introduce students to Fantasy Football. Students first calculate football points given touchdowns, yardage gains and interceptions. They are then challenged to generalize ...
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Fantasy Football
Sol LeWitt’s pyramid – How might you count those blocks?
Sol LeWitt (1928 - 2007) was a an American artist involved in Conceptual art and Minimalism.  This structure is housed in the garden of the Hirshhorn Museum on the National ...
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Sol LeWitt's pyramid - How might you count those blocks?
Nike’s latest bet
Nike has just chosen a surprising person to represent the 30th anniversary of their slogan, "Just Do It".  Colin Kaepernick, past quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, has been a ...
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Nike's latest bet
Justin Verlander’s hugely expensive lunch
Check out Justin Verlander's luncheon bill. What do you notice? What do you wonder? Students might be interested in or impressed by what a $1 million dollar charge does to ...
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Justin Verlander's hugely expensive lunch
Madden Glitch
It's the talk of the town. Madden video games have had some issues. Check this one out. Here's one that has Le'Veon Bell seeming to fly from the Bear's goal ...
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Madden Glitch
“Wild Boars” soccer team rescue – Incredible
Can you imagine being stuck in the dark for such a long time?  How do all of the numbers play out? In this activity, students get a chance to talk ...
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"Wild Boars" soccer team rescue - Incredible
Now that LeBron James is becoming an L. A. Laker, will this company go broke?
Fanatics is an online sportswear retailer that has promised to accept jersey returns if your chosen player makes a team switch. In this activity student try to calculate how much ...
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Now that LeBron James is becoming an L. A. Laker, will this company go broke?
Encouraging bats might be better than using bug repellant
Bats eat mosquitoes ... lots of mosquitoes. Students compare a bat's weight to how much he can consume in one night.  They calculate how much they would need to eat ...
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Encouraging bats might be better than using bug repellant
Fibonacci coloring
Let your students simply enjoy coloring our designs or artistically play with the whole creation of Φ designs. Simply coloring our Fibonacci patterns might allow students to ponder the Fibonacci ...
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Fibonacci coloring
Impress your parents at dinner
This activity is the first in our series on mental math tricks.  Let your students develop their own individual way of mentally multiplying by 0.5, 5, 50, 500, and so ...
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Impress your parents at dinner
What are the odds that Justify can win the Triple Crown?
Justify has won the Triple Crown.  He's the 13th horse to ever win all three races ... Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes.  Amazing! How do you calculate compound ...
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What are the odds that <em>Justify</em> can win the Triple Crown?
Will Damarious Randall have to pay big?
Warriors won the NBA Championships.  Randall won't have to buy jerseys! The Cleveland Brown's safety player, Damarious Randall, posted this tweet.  Its been very popular and retweeted a lot.  How ...
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Will Damarious Randall have to pay big?
More eruptions on Hawai’i’s Kilauea
The Volcano Kilauea is continuing to spew molten lava and ash on the island of Hawai'i. This volcano is on the tip of the southern most Hawaiian Island.  Is that ...
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More eruptions on Hawai'i's Kilauea
Prince Harry and Meghan Markel’s Royal Wedding
This weekend is the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markel. This will be quite an event and we can expect it to dominate the media.  What have you heard ...
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markel's Royal Wedding
Who had the greatest NBA season ever?
Updated for 2019! In 2017 Russel Westbrook had one of the most dominating seasons ever, averaging a trip!e double per game.  James Harden lit up the league in 2018 and ...
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Who had the greatest NBA season ever?
Boeing 787 draws an airplane over the United States
Recently, pilots of a Boeing 787 testing a new set of Rolls Royce engines, fulfilled their FAA required long-distance endurance requirement in an unusual way. The Boeing pilots decided to have ...
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Boeing 787 draws an airplane over the United States
Where should I drop my puck?
Act 1 - Give students time to view the game board above or give them our one-page activity. The above picture is larger when you click on it. Ask students ...
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Where should I drop my puck?
How fast can you run?
In preparation for the Boston Marathon, we thought that an analysis of running speeds might be appropriate.Have you heard of The Six Million Dollar Man?  He was the character in ...
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How fast can you run?
Jackie Robinson
April 15th, 1947 was a date to remember.  Jackie Robinson became the first African-American baseball player to play in Major League Baseball since the game was segregated in the 1890s ...
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Jackie Robinson
What me? Irrational?
We've found that some students believe that the approximation that their calculators show for irrational numbers is exact.  Here's an activity that you can advertise as long multiplication review. After ...
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What me?  Irrational?
Pizza party figuring
In this activity students decide how to divide 2 pizzas amongst 6 adults and 3 pizzas amongst 8 kids.  Fractional pizza parts need to be drawn and considerations discussed about ...
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Pizza party figuring
Want to earn $150,000? – Mersenne prime search
What's a Mersenne prime?        How hard could it be to find the next one? Why are there only 50 known Mersenne primes?     What's with $150,000? ...
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Want to earn $150,000? - Mersenne prime search
Curling
Friction, score-keeping, trajectory and weirdness are the main concepts in this activity.  Curling is not a well-understood sport but the science and strategy are easily understood and enjoyed. Let your ...
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Curling
Olympic rankings
Check out the two images of the 2008 summer Olympic medal counts.  What do you notice? The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and are ...
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Olympic rankings
Big Air snowboarding
Graphic generously supplied by GraphicNews.com Starting February 18th a new Olympic sport will be televised ... Big Air Snowboarding.  Some of your students may be officianados of snowboarding. Using this ...
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Big Air snowboarding
Super Bowl ads and scientific notation
Let your students revisit and reflect on the interesting commercials with this scientific notation activity. Students practice using scientific notation as they calculate the cost of Super Bowl commercials. After ...
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Super Bowl ads and scientific notation
Winter Olympics, PyeongChang: February 9 – 25
Scoring Ski jumping - The scoring rubric for each of the Olympic events is intended to eliminate the possibility of scoring bias from the judges. Let your students learn more about the ...
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Winter Olympics, PyeongChang: February 9 - 25
How many wings did the Bills send the Bengals?
On December 31st, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens' loss clinched the Buffalo Bills' rise to the AFC playoffs.  The Bills sent a thank-you gift of ...
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How many wings did the Bills send the Bengals?
Greasing light poles
The Philadelphia police were being proactive about keeping their enthusiastic Eagles fans from being reckless as they celebrated their 2018 Super Bowl win.  So, the police departments frosted the city ...
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Greasing light poles
Cost of hosting Olympic games
Clicking on this image will show it larger in a new window. Hosting the Olympics sure does cost a lot. Why is that? How much money is $5 billion dollars? ...
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Cost of hosting Olympic games
The Olympic Torch trip in South Korea
On October 24, 2017, the Olympic flame was captured on Mount Olympus, Greece. (Lighting the Olympic Torch). That flame lit one of this year's Olympic Torches and the Torch relay ...
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The Olympic Torch trip in South Korea
Is this promo a good deal?
McDonald's was offering an "Arch Card" special deal. If you bought an Arch Card for $100 you were entitled to a free BigMac or EggMcMuffin every week for a full ...
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Is this promo a good deal?
Spiraling triples
Let students explore the patterns of perfect squares and Pythagorean Triples as they analyze our piece of art and decide why the resulting construction looks like spiraling squares. For a ...
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Spiraling triples
Is my son going to win … again?
My son's pretty young but is he still going to whoop me?  We were playing Monopoly Junior.  Can you decide who will win?  In this activity use addition and/or multiplication ...
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Is my son going to win ... again?
Hands of “Support”
Lorenzo Quinn, an Italian sculptor, created and temporarily installed this piece of art entitled "Support" in Venice.  Quinn used his own children's hands to design this piece.  His intention was ...
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Hands of "Support"
Holiday candy sales
Which holidays are associated with candy? For which of those holidays is the most candy sold? What percents of annual candy sales does each holiday contribute? Consider using some independent think ...
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Holiday candy sales
Population Clock
Click here to see the Population Clock bigger in a new window. How in the world does this clock conclude that there is a net gain in the United States ...
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Population Clock
Water saving toilets
How much water is used? How much water could be saved? The activity: PottyTime-SavingWater.pdf CCSS: 5.MD.1, 5.NBT.7, 6.RP.3, 7.RP.3, MP2 ...
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Water saving toilets
Immigration numbers
Here's an opportunity to work with calculating percents and the percent changes in the U.S. immigrant population. Students can reflect on what those changes demonstrate. Start your class with this ...
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Immigration numbers
Uh oh! Am I going to run out of data?
Let your students consider the graphic first individually and then in groups of your choosing before handing out the activity sheet. This might be an excellent beginnng-of-the-year, get-to-know-each-other task!  The ...
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Uh oh!  Am I going to run out of data?
Should I get the Big One?
 Let your students decide if the BIG one is a fair deal.  Click on the pic to enlarge and post on the wall.  Have kids pick a sandwich.  Which size ...
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Should I get the Big One?
Layla’s antibiotics
The dosage of Layla's medication was confusing to our friend Kim.  How many days was she supposed to give Layla the meds?  How many pills does she need to cut ...
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Layla's antibiotics
Will the new iPhone sales be huge?
Apple just announced their new, 10th anniversary, iPhones, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X.  These phones will soon be in stores, the iPhone 8 comes out on September 22, ...
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Will the new iPhone sales be huge?
BIG Snickers bar
Wow!  This snickers bar is huge! Act 1 - Big question = How many times bigger than a regular Snickers bar is this? What info would you like to know? How ...
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BIG Snickers bar
How much does the biggest Lego set ever cost?
Note: This is a remake of our 2014 "How Much Does a Lego Cost" activity How much could the Lego Millennium Falcon cost? Student first make a guess and then ...
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How much does the biggest Lego set ever cost?
Total solar eclipse – apparent sizes
Where will the eclipse be seen?  What if you are not in the path of totality?  Total solar eclipse?  What is apparent size?  How can the moon seem to cover ...
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Total solar eclipse - apparent sizes
How many times bigger?
Listen to students initial thoughts as they wrestle through what "bigger" means ... length? height? wheel-base? volume? ...
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How many times bigger?
Giant iceberg breaks off from Antarctica
The crack in Antarctica's Larson C ice shelf has been growing for years.  Has the speed of the rift's growth stayed about the same? increased? decreased?  Do the math and ...
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Giant iceberg breaks off from Antarctica
Drinks at the Fair
At the amusement park, our friend, Jason, was intrigued with this sign for drink deals. He and his family come often to the park and, during the summer when it ...
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Drinks at the Fair
Fireworks on your calculator
Let your students experiment with their graphing calculators to create a nice fireworks display?  We've written a brief activity that questions students about manipulating parabolas, adjusting their calculator windows, and helping them ...
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Fireworks on your calculator
How many cars are there?
I came home from work to find that my son had his cars organized in a tight parking lot on our front porch. How many cars are there? Is it ...
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How many cars are there?
Saving Water Bottles
In my grocery store they now have these new water bottle refilling stations. You can simply refill your own container with water instead of buying a six-pack of bottled water ...
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Saving Water Bottles
New Pirates of the Caribbean – How profitable?
The fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie opened on Friday, May 26th. Your students might be looking forward to seeing this movie and motivated to understand the investment expenses and profit ...
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New Pirates of the Caribbean - How profitable?
Fidget spinners – fad or lasting trend?
Do you recognize what these are? Are you noticing students with these gadgets? Is this a forever toy or just the newest thing? Can you tell by looking at trend ...
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Fidget spinners - fad or lasting trend?
Proposed southern border wall
You have probably heard about the proposed border wall that may go up along the U.S./Mexico border.  How much wall needs to be built? How much will that cost? What ...
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Proposed southern border wall
A gorgeous, glittery card
Uh oh!  How do you find the area of a heart? Get your students to help you calculate how many sequins you'll need to order for this class project. The ...
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A gorgeous, glittery card
Measuring sea level
What does this gizmo do? We've given students a diagram of what the interior of this mechanism contains and asked them to try to decide what its purpose must be ...
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Measuring sea level
Giant iceberg
Over the past Easter weekend this giant iceberg drifted passed Ferryland, Newfoundland.  Its hard to tell how large it actually is but it looks huge.  Use some of the data ...
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Giant iceberg
Chicken to share
How many pieces does each person get when $10 is supposed to feed two people? ...
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Chicken to share
April’s calf was born!
At about 10:00 am, April 15th, April's calf was born.  Everyone will be talking about it and smiling constantly. Here's some fun math stuff to bring with you for Holiday ...
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April's calf was born!
Patriots’ Day
In Massachusetts, Monday April 15th, 2019, will be a holiday from school and work.  We celebrate Patriots' Day on the 3rd Monday in April to commemorate the beginning of the ...
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Patriots' Day
What does 95% confidence in the poll results mean?
There have been a lot of polls about who will win the Presidential election. I get so confused when polling results are reported.  What is a 95% confidence measure? What's ...
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What does 95% confidence in the poll results mean?
Alarming ice cracks on Brunt Ice Sheet in Antarctica
A new, fast-growing ice crack is forcing the Halley VI British research station in Antarctica (shown above) to be moved.  Fear of a huge break-off from the ice sheet is alarming ...
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Alarming ice cracks on Brunt Ice Sheet in Antarctica
New baby giraffe
Willow weighed 125 pounds at birth and was 6 feet 1 inch tall.  She will grow to her adult height of around 14 feet tall in only four years! How ...
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New baby giraffe
How did I graph this heart?
What equations did I use to make this beauty? algebraic-heart CCSS: 8.EE, 8.F, HSA, HSG ...
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How did I graph this heart?
Have a heart
Clicking on the image above will show the heart larger in a new window.Canstruction® is an event hosted in more than 150 countries throughout the world to demonstrate "innovation, hunger relief  ...
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Have a heart
Super Bowl cheesy pretzel poppers
... A little more delicious work for the Super Bowl.  Students follow a recipe that involves "cutting the cheese" block, figuring how many servings, estimating how many times they need to ...
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Super Bowl cheesy pretzel poppers
Getting a new iPhone – which plan should I choose?
I want to get an iPhone8 and maybe change my service plan.  Which of the above plans should I choose? Student pick one plan and consider the cost of the phone and ...
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Getting a new iPhone - which plan should I choose?
Civil rights marches, how do you count a crowd?
On October 16, 1995, perhaps a million black men gathered for the Million Man March on Washington.  This was 32 years after Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his historic "I have ...
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Civil rights marches, how do you count a crowd?
It’s latke time
In my family it is traditional to eat latkes (Yiddish for little potato pancakes) at this time of year.  They are fried in a lot of oil and salted generously ...
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It's latke time
What’s wrong with this picture?
We've gotten used to believing what we read or see advertised.  But sometimes the clerk doesn't get the sales discount right or something seems a little off.  Let students ponder ...
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What's wrong with this picture?
Giant macaroon nutcracker, revisited
Each year the Boston Ballet highlights the holiday season with the Nutcracker ballet.  In 2014, the Boston Ritz Carlton Hotel's chef, Andrew Yeo and his pastry team, created a gorgeous and ...
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Giant macaroon nutcracker, revisited
Pick-a-brick wall at the Lego store
There are walls at the Lego stores that are filled with individual Lego parts.  You can fill a bucket and pick out exactly what you need. Use this PowerPoint activity ...
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Pick-a-brick wall at the Lego store
$10,000 a week or $10 million all at once?
Would you rather have $10,000 a week or $10 million all at once? What kinds of things do we need to think about or factor in when making this decision? ...
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$10,000 a week or $10 million all at once?
Fantastic Beasts – What did it cost to make?
In 2001, J.K.Rowling (the author of the Harry Potter series) wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The movie of this book opened on November 18th, 2016.  This is the ...
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Fantastic Beasts - What did it cost to make?
Shrinking Toblerone
They changed it.  That is so not fair ... or is it? You can check out a video news story on the delicious shrinking Toblerone bar here. Two sizes of ...
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Shrinking Toblerone
3 winners on the Price is Right – what are the chances?
Act One: Show this clip of the recent Price is Right program.  What questions do your students have? We were wondering what the chances are of 3 contestants in a ...
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3 winners on the Price is Right - what are the chances?
Cubs bury curse !
Wow!  It's been a long time coming.  The Chicago Cubs just won the World Series! The last time they won the World Series was in 1908 (For some perspective, that ...
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Cubs bury curse !