What’s your favorite campfire food? Here at Mathnasium we’re partial s’mores. Not just because they taste soooo delicious, or because they’re great fun to make, but also because they’re ideal for practicing math skills! Yes, you read that right, marshmallows and math skills go hand in hand. This week’s word problem challenge provides a fun and foodie opportunity to practice volume, percent, multiplication, and other middle school math skills.

Question: An unroasted marshmallow has a volume of 0.25π cubic inches. After Andrew roasts the marshmallow over a campfire, its volume is 150% its original volume. What is the post-roast volume of the marshmallow?

Go ahead and give it a try. Take your time, and when you’re ready, check below for the solution.

Solution: To find 150% of 0.25π, we can multiply the 1.5 by 0.25 and then by π: 1.5 multiplied by 0.25 is 0.375, and 0.375 multiplied by π is 0.375π. So, the volume of the roasted marshmallow is 0.375π cubic inches.

(Image above from www.maxpixel.net)

You can’t pigeonhole David Horinek. How could you? He’s a chemist, a cryptocurrency inventor,  business owner, and … expert hairdresser? 

You read that right. Horinek’s a true entrepreneur: He constantly conceives new ideas and is fearless in their pursuit, no matter where they take him. His varied interests have one thing in common: They require him to use math.

Money math skills are some of the most important, most often used math skills in everyday life. Even kids who may not do much purchasing on a regular basis will benefit from improving their money math skills. This week’s word problem challenge will help kids practice division, subtraction, percents and other elementary school math. Give it a try, practice a little every day, and your skills will soar!

Question: Dillon wants to buy a model airplane that costs $34.00. She has a $5.00 bill and a 75% off coupon. How much more money does Dillon need to get the model airplane?

When you're ready, check below for the solution.

Solution: Since the coupon is for 75% off, the model airplane costs 25% of its original cost, which is half of a half of $34.00. Half of $34.00 is $17.00, and half of that is $8.50. If Dillon has $5.00, she needs $8.50 – $5.00 = $3.50 more to buy the model airplane.