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.

Kids who get bored while traveling often start bickering or complaining, making every minute feel like an hour. Parents are often tempted to give in to the easy fix, allowing more screen time than usual. If you’d prefer to limit screen time and keep kids entertained and engaged with family, we’ve got some great ideas. Rather than have the kids “tune out” with electronics, have them “turn on” their brains with math games!

What project would you like to accomplish over the summer? Whatever it is, you might need math to make it happen. It this week’s word problem challenge Tej needs to figure out how long it will take him to finish a brick wall he’s building. Practice your elementary and middle school math skills as you figure out the challenge.

Take your time and think it through. When you're ready, check below for the solution!

Question: Tej is building a brick wall. The entire wall will have 486 bricks. On the first day, he lays 243 bricks but was more and more tired as the days went on. Each day after the first he only lays 2/3 of the number of bricks left from the previous day. How many days did it take Tej to finish the wall?

Solution: First we find 486 − 243 = 243 bricks left to lay after the first day. Each of the following days he lays 2/3 the amount he did the previous day. 2/3 of 243 = 162. He laid 162 bricks on day 2, leaving 243 − 162 = 81 bricks to be laid. If we repeat this process, at the end of day 6 he will only have 1 more brick to lay. Since we can’t take a fraction, day 7 will be an easy one and Tej will only have to lay one brick.