Click here [1] for the Problem Extension Worksheet version of the Problems of the Week.
Click here [2] for an MS Word version of the Problems of the Week.
Click here [3] for the Canadian Problem Extension Worksheet version of the Problems of the Week.
Click here [4] for a Canadian MS Word version of the Problems of the Week.
[5]Lower Elementary:
Question: Abby has $5.00 to spend on snacks. Cookies cost 50¢ per cookie, chips cost 75¢ per bag, and juice costs $1.00 per bottle. If Abby buys one of each, how much money will she have left?
Answer: $2.75
Solution: Abby’s snacks cost $0.50 + $0.75 + $1.00 = $2.25. So, Abby will have $5.00 – $2.25 = $2.75 left.
[6]Upper Elementary:
Question: Brianna has a box that can hold up to 50 pounds. She puts 3 books that each weigh 2 pounds inside the box. She also puts a lamp that weighs 20 pounds inside the box. What percent of the box’s maximum weight capacity does Brianna have left to fill?
Answer: 48%
Solution: Brianna puts 3 × 2 + 20 = 26 pounds of stuff into the box. That means the box can hold another 50 – 26 = 24 pounds. Since 50 is half of 100 and percents are out of 100, we can double 24 to find that there is still 48% of the box’s maximum weight capacity left to fill.
[7]Middle School:
Question: Caleb has an aquarium that is 2 feet long, 1 foot wide, and 1 foot tall. A gallon is equal to 231 cubic inches. How many whole gallons of water can the aquarium hold?
Answer: 14 gallons
Solution: The aquarium is 24 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 12 inches tall. So, its volume is 24 × 12 × 12 = 3,456 cubic inches. When we divide 3,456 by 231, we get 14 whole gallons and a remainder of 222 cubic inches.
[8]Algebra and Up:
Question: Darcy is decorating her bedroom and sketches a floor plan to a 1:12 scale. What is the area of the surface of a desk that is 31/2 inches long and 21/4 inches wide on Darcy’s sketch?
Answer: 77/8 square feet
Solution: If the scale is 1:12, then 1 inch on the sketch represents 12 inches in the real world. So, an inch on the map is a foot in real life. The surface of the desk therefore has an area of 31/4 × 21/2 = 77/8 square feet.