It's time to crack open that piggy bank and see what's inside. First, count up the pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, identifying what fraction of them are dimes. Then calculate the total value of the coins, writing another fraction...

Cash in on a great resource. After watching a video of a coin counter, pupils estimate the number of coins and the amount of money they see. They then use additional given information and systems of equations to find the actual values.

How should a cashier stock a cash register with coins? Learners use mathematical modeling and expected value to determine how many rolls of coins of each type they should place in a cash register.

What starts as a basic question of division and remainders quickly turns abstract in this question of related ratios and radii. The class works to surround a central coin with coins of the same and different values, then develops a...

Use volume to count your change. Pupils watch as a cube is filled with stacks of pennies and make an estimate on how many pennies are in the cube. The teacher provides additional information to the class members about the size of the...

How much coffee can you actually drink? An intriguing lesson has learners consider an advertisement for a bottomless mug of coffee. While considering the price of the mug, they analyze different scenarios to determine the cost-saving...

Second graders take a trip to the arcade in an activity that engages them in problem solving with money. Composed of three word problems, youngsters are instructed to determine various combinations to represent a given value by using...

Young economists explore opportunity cost by counting how much money Susan has in her piggy bank. From here, they are challenged to help Susan make a choice about what she can buy with her money. 

Did you know that leaky faucets waste $10 million worth of water? Conservationists perform an experiment and draw best-fit lines to explore how the US Geological Society determined this value.

Many middle schoolers like to play sports and the equipment that goes with it costs money. The resource sets up an inequality that gives a total amount needed to purchase the equipment and the initial amount of money already obtained. In...

A basic set-up leads to a surprisingly complex analysis in this variation on the question of surrounding a central circle with a ring of touching circles. Useful for putting trigonometric functions in a physical context, as well as...

During a walk-a-thon your learners must determine the walking rate of Julianna's progress. Using tables, graphs, and an equation, they must be able to calculate the time it took her to walk one mile and predict her distance based on the...

More on the fictitious takeover of the Apple Corporation by Microsoft. In this scenario, Microsoft has $28.00 per share to spare, so how many do they need to offer to make an even trade? This is an engaging problem to solve when...

In this real-world example, algebra learners start to get a sense of how to represent the relationship between two variables in different ways. They start by looking at a partial table of values that define a linear relationship. They...

Your algebra learners will discover how quickly an exponential function value grows compared to a linear function's value. Making a table of values helps in this comparison, set in the context of making a wage for raking leaves.

Packing for a trip? This activity allows learners to decide how many magazines and protein bars they can buy with twenty dollars. They can organize their work in a chart to track how many items they can purchase. There are two different...

Mixture problems are a classic in first-year algebra. Unfortunately, many learners approach them in a formulaic fashion and don't truly understand the meaning of the algebraic expressions they are using. Here, the questions are not the...

Your mathematician's job is to explore the relationship between hours and miles walked during a walk-a-thon. The activity compels your learners to experiment with different means in finding out this proportional relationship. The answer...

In this social studies worksheet, students discover how to be an informed consumer by first reading 10 questions pertaining to marketing, advertising and purchasing choices. Students use Internet searches to find the answers. There are...

Taxi! Have your travelers figure out how far they can go in a taxi for $10.00. They must account for the mileage rate and tip in their calculation. They can set up a table or make an equation to solve for the exact mileage they can...

This site has a review of current U.S. coin values.

Practice your problem solving skills while you help Ram figure out how many pennies to put in each bag. The solution is right on this one page website.

Children can measure with a favorite character to understand the value of standardized units of measure, such as inches and feet. This activity will help them practice measuring and understand comparing the measurements of one item to...