Jim and Jesse started their road trip with the same amount of money. Your class must find the amount of money each one had given, the amount of money spent, and the ratio of money at the end. This is a comprehensive problem that...

Take your class on a North American adventure with a currency conversion problem. Pupils are asked to change US dollars into Canadian dollars and then to Mexican pesos. The commentary includes two solutions, converting by unit rates and...

Help your fourth graders make cents out of fractions and decimals with this short word problem. After learning that dimes are one-tenth and pennies one-hundredth of a dollar, students write a fraction and decimal for a given number...

How much do a pencil and sticker cost? Youngsters use a bar diagram to find the cost of a sticker that is twenty cents less than the cost of a pencil. Given the prices, learners must find the cost of the sticker in order to find the cost...

Your algebra students double their money monthly in this task based on a checking account balance. Learners write an equation to model the situation and then use their model to answer contextual questions.

In order to solve for who raised the most money, learners will need to choose an appropriate math strategy or tool to help them. Two possible solutions, one involving pictures and one involving abstract thought, are presented in the...

Your young taxi drivers evaluate and articulate the reasoning behind statements in a conceptual task involving linear data. The given data table of distances traveled and the resulting fare in dollars is used by learners to explore...

Toss 100 pennies (or poker chips or any other two-different-sided objects) and remove all of those displaying tails. Line them up and repeat. The lines of pennies collected get smaller each time, successfully representing half-life.

Learners are asked to advise a fuel oil dealer on a possible investment. They must use two different rates to set up an equation and solve to determine how much oil he should sell now to break even after selling the remainder the next...

Here is a coin problem where the algebra learner determines the pair of linear equations needed to solve the system. Whether the equations are taken from a table, or your scholars recognize the format of a coin problem, it is an...

Keep within a water budget. Learners find out that less than 2.5% of Earth's water is available to drink—and that there is a fixed amount of water. Scholars read an interesting article comparing the available water to a game of Monopoly...

All too often stores give coupons for an item, but when you go into buy it, the item is on discount.  The store won’t take the coupon if the discount is used. So what do you do, use the coupon or take the discount? This activity...

Don't shine like a diamond, refract light like a diamond. Young scientists use an acrylic block and a laser light to observe refraction. Advanced scholars figure the sine of the angles of reflection and incidence as well as mastering...

A quick problem to test your middle schoolers' knowledge of dividing with decimals. Also a good practice of unit rates, they must compute the cost of one gallon of gas when given the total amount for a fill up. Can be used as a preface...

Teenagers love to think about driving and buying their first car. The intent of this resource is to create an equation for the list price of a car and add the appropriate state tax. Once your teens understand the calculation, ask them to...

Learning how a bank account works is a useful tool. The exercise in the resource is to deduct rent from a checking account and create an equation from a description. Participants then graph the balance of the bank account versus months...

Challenge the addition skills of young learners with this open-ended math problem. The task is simple, get from start to finish by connecting a series of three numbers. The trick is that the sum of the numbers must be less than...

If you set up a triad of mirrors into a corner figuration, they act as a kaleidoscope, bouncing light waves back and forth indefinitely, changing the light that your eyes perceive. Although the materials required are very specific and...

In this Benford's Law learning exercise, high schoolers read about the first digit frequency of numbers. Students solve 3 problems about sunspot numbers, solar wind magnetism and the depth of the latest earthquakes by using on line sites...

A discussion of the strength of the British pound sterling and why England has chosen not to join its European neighbors in the use of the Euro as a common currency. The author has a background in research and in the history of finance.

In this activity, students deal with cash flow and its present value, which is its worth in today's dollars. They will compare alternative investments by determining their Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return. They will also...

In this project, participants create ceramic bowls then serve a simple meal of soup and bread. Guests choose a bowl to use that day and to keep as a reminder that there are always "empty bowls" in the world. In exchange for a meal and...

Presents a chart contrasting the powers of the National government to the powers of a State government. The powers shared by both levels of government are listed below the chart.