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 state? What is it about Louisiana that causes so much…
After chlorination, it has been hard to measure the quantity of pollutants in pool water. 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…
All soccer players on a team aren’t paid the same. The best players are paid more than the simply great players. And in Women’s soccer those same differences exist but at a smaller income scale. In this activity we examine…
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 are given a double discount? Could everything be free?
Monday, April 22nd is Earth Day – There is so much to bring to your classroom to support recycling, conserving resources, studying climate change and protecting our planet. Have you seen more Monarch butterflies lately? – Students read charts, do a little research, and make observations…
Shamrocks in Ireland are actually be 3-leafed white clover, trifolium repens. If you are lucky, you can sometimes find a four-leafed clover. How rare is finding a 4-leafed clover? How hard do you have to look? What size area of clover must you examine to find one? + 2 more Saint Patrick’s Day activities
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for one hour and then promised a lifetime of Whopper meals, an Oregon man sued BK when the manager’s promise was withdrawn.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 should he ask for in his suit? The activity: BurgerKingBathroomLawsuit.pdf
Students do some rate, distance, and hardship comparisons to decide if they agree that the Iditarod is really the Last Great Race on Earth.
Should I oven bake it, deep fry it or barbecue and smoke it? When do I have to wake up to begin preparations? How long will the cooking take? How much will it cost? How many can I feed? Will there…
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 for the “whole.” JUST IN: @_TJWatt lost 38% of his…
The growing deficits of our government and accumulated debt are constantly in the news. Allow your students to investigate these concepts and their causes with this timely activity. The activity involves reading charts, making comparisons, computing percents and analyzing trends…
Will November 6th 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 central tendencies, and make predictions about this year’s voter turnout. The…
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 observe. But, the populations data on Monarchs has seriously changed…
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 about the experience of this ordeal while calculating usual rates…
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 this “Jersey Assurance” program will actually cost the company. This…