“How many clothes can I fit into my suitcase?” “How far can we get on a gallon of gas?” These are the types of questions we ask ourselves all the time, but may not realize that we can arrive at the answers by using math!
This week’s word problems will give you and your child practice in figuring out “how much or how many” of a given thing. Read the problems below and choose the one that’s the right skill level for your child. Have them give it a try. And when they feel they’ve found the answer, check their solution against ours.
Excellent! Are you ready to check your child’s answer? Look below to see if their solution matches ours.
Lower Elementary:
Answer: 84 sweaters
Solution: Since Danny’s suitcase holds 12 sweaters, Wendy’s holds 12 + 12 = 24 sweaters. Since Wendy’s suitcase holds 24 sweaters, Jack’s suitcase holds 24 + 24 = 48 sweaters. So, all three sweaters can hold 12 + 24 + 48 = 84 sweaters.
Upper Elementary:
Answer: 131/3 miles
Solution: To find the distance travelled per mile, we divide 40 miles by 3 gallons: 40 ÷ 3 = 131/3. The family travels 131/3 miles for each gallon of gas.
Middle School:
Answer: 9 pages
Solution: Since the writer types 36 words per minute and there are 240 words on a page, that means he types 36/240 = 3/20 of a page per minute. So, in an hour, he types 3/20 × 60 = 180/20 = 9 pages per hour.
Algebra and Up:
Answer: 5 yards per second
Solution: Jack runs through 40% of 6,000 = 2,400 yards of the maze, but since 25% of those 2,400 yards are retraced, he runs 2,400 × 1.25 = 3,000 yards. So, he runs 3,000 yards in 10 minutes, which is 300 yards per minute and 5 yards per second.
