Word Problem Wednesday: Wake Up Call for Elementary School Math Skills

If a rooster crowing wakes you up with the sun, when does a duck wake you up?
Answer: At the “quack” of dawn!

Which do you think would be a better wake up call, an alarm clock or...a duck? This week’s word problem challenge will give you a chance to answer that question AND practice your elementary school math skill such as division and fractions. Remember, everytime you practice those math skills you improve those math skills! So dive right in and give it a try! If you get stuck, come give us a quack at Mathnasium of Cave Creek. 

Challenge: One farmer sleeps through his alarm clock 3 times every 12 days. Another farmer has a duck that wakes him up 2 out of every 3 days by quacking. Which wakeup method is more effective, the alarm clock or the duck?

...I think Donald Duck would make a more efficient alarm clock...

Answer: The Alarm Clock

Solution: Since the farmer sleeps through his alarm 3 times every 12 days, he wakes up to his alarm clock 9 times every 12 days. So, the alarm clock is successful 9 ÷ 12 = ¾ of the mornings it’s used. The duck wakes up the farmer 2 ÷ 3 = â…” of the mornings it quacks. Since ¾ is more than â…”, the alarm clock is more effective than the duck.