It’s a good time to give students some authentic math on a topic they probably will be interested in … Starbucks beverages. We ask and answer a few questions in this activity. About how many drinks does Starbucks sell in…
Listen to students initial thoughts as they wrestle through what “bigger” means … length? height? wheel-base? volume? Come up with guesses that are too high and too low. Show that the average of guesses is pretty close to actual.
Huge sports contracts! We often hear about big player contracts. Who makes the most per year? Per game? What sports?
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.
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 must have been and consider how long it would take their family to eat the entire world-record burger.
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 minutes to estimate their age in days, hours and minutes.…
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 pricing and recycling activity.
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 graphic.
Students use the infographic to compare NFL team home and away wins. They consider the best home team, the best away team and decide if NFL teams really do seem to have a home field advantage.
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? What is the whole circle worth? How do you know?
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 a guess and then think about what information would be…
Students change decimals to fractions, calculate ingredient measures for various-sized Thanksgiving servings, explain their thinking in calculating these figures, and judge how many servings could be created from 7½ pounds of potatoes.
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 amount of coffee that this record-sized mug holds. Students also…
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 went into 3 overtimes. People stayed up way too late…
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). Do the Presidents need a raise?
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 to demonstrate our need of human support to ensure the…