Rewards for Problems of the week:
5 points for the correct answer at your level; 10 points for the next level; 20 points each for 2+ levels up.
Lower Elementary:
Question: Michael’s soccer team is having a bake sale. They bake 2 each of 3 kinds of pie, then cut each pie into 8 slices. How many slices of pie can Michael’s soccer team sell at their bake sale?
Answer: 48 slices
Solution: The team makes 2 × 3 = 6 pies. If each pie is cut into 8 slices, that’s 6 × 8 = 48 slices in total.
Upper Elementary:
Question: Katie is comparing the prices of 4 different pies. A cherry pie costs $6.00. A chocolate cream pie costs $11.00. A blueberry pie costs $7.00. A peach pie costs the average price of all 4 of the pies. How much does the peach pie cost?
Answer: $8.00
Solution: If the average of all 4 pies is the same as the price of the peach pie, then the average of the first 3 pies must be equal to the price of the peach pie. To find the average price of the pies, we add the prices of the first 3 pies together, then divide by 3.
$6.00 + $11.00 + $7.00 = $24.00
$24.00 ÷ 3 = $8.00
Middle School:
Question: Daniel orders a pumpkin pie from a bakery. The pie costs $16.60. He tips the baker 15% rounded up to the next dollar. By how much money does Daniel round the tip?
Answer: $0.51
Solution: To find 15% of $16.60, we multiply $16.60 × 0.15 = $2.49. If Daniel rounds up to the next dollar, he will round by $3.00 – $2.49 = $0.51.
Algebra and Up:
Question: Soren and his family share a lemon meringue pie that weighs 2 pounds. Soren takes a slice whose angle measures 40°. How much does the remaining pie weigh?
Answer: 17/9 pounds
Solution: After Soren takes a 40° slice, there are 320° of pie left. That’s 320 ÷ 360 = 8/9 of the pie, and 8/9 of 2 pounds is 17/9 pounds of pie.
If the first scale is balanced, what combination of shapes could balance the second scale?
Answer: 5 circles
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