Lower Elementary
Question: Julia is having a bake sale on Sunday and she wants to donate a bunch of her famous pumpkin pies. On Thursday and Friday she baked 6 pies each day and on Saturday she baked 5 pies. How many pumpkin pies did Julia bake altogether?
Answer: 17 pies
Note: Julia made 6 pies on Thursday, 6 pies on Friday, and 5 pies on Saturday. Altogether Julia made 17 pies (6 + 6 + 5).
Upper Elementary
Question: The first Thanksgiving was celebrated 155 years before the United States became a nation in 1776. How many years has it been since the first Thanksgiving?
Answer: 390 years
Note: 155 years before 1776 is:
1776 – 155 = 1621
To find how many years 1621 is up to 2011, we subtract 1621 from 2011.
2011 – 1621 = 390 years
Another way of doing this problem is to find how many years 1776 is up to 2011, and then add 155.
Middle School
Question: Julie’s stuffing recipe feeds 6 people, but 9 people are coming over for Thanksgiving dinner. If the recipe calls for 5 ounces of stuffing mix, 10 slices of bread, 4 eggs, and a half cup of water, how much of each ingredient will she need to make sure she has enough stuffing for everyone?
Answer: 7½ ounces of stuffing mix, 15 slices of bread, 6 eggs, and a ¾ cup of water
Note: 9 is 1½ times larger than 6 (9/6 = 1½). To find how much of each ingredient we need we multiply the amount of each ingredient by 1½.
Stuffing mix: 5 ounces x 1½ = 7½ ounces
Bread: 10 slices x 1½ = 15 slices
Eggs: 4 eggs x 1½ = 6 eggs
Water: ½ cup x 1½ = ¾ cup
Algebra and Up
Question: The United States eats 270 million turkeys each year where one sixth of those turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving. If the average weight of all turkeys sold is 18.3 pounds and turkeys cost $1.25 a pound, how much money do Americans spend each year for Thanksgiving turkey?
Answer: $1029.375 million or $1,029,375,000
Note: Because 1/6 of turkeys sold in the U.S. are sold for Thanksgiving, we multiply 270 million and 1/6 to find the number of turkeys sold for Thanksgiving.
(1/6) â— 270 million = 45 million
In order to find how much Americans spend each year on Thanksgiving turkeys, we first need to find how many pounds of turkey are sold. This can be done by multiplying 45 million by the average weight of turkeys sold, 18.3 pounds.
45 million â— 18.3 pounds = 823.5 million pounds
Because turkeys cost $1.25 per pound, we multiply 823.5 million pounds by $1.25.
823.5 million pounds â— $1.25 per pound = $1029.375 million or $1,029,375,000
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