How much money do you earn for 1,000,000 streams on Spotify? We begin this problem by thinking like a spy and figuring out what information we have and what information we need. Initially, students may not be aware of what information they know and what information they need to know. Having students…
When will the winning Minecraft pickaxe finish? We begin this problem by thinking like a spy and figuring out what information we have and what information we need. The video shows us that there are six kinds of pickaxes competing in a race. Once the race starts the gold pickaxe takes an…
Download The SituationFrito-Lay produces packages of chips that contain a variety of flavors like the package below. The circles on the bags’ lower right corner normally displays the quantity of each type of chips. With 20 bags in the package and four flavors, it would be natural to assume that there would be 5…
How many packages of hot dogs and hot dog buns should he purchase so that there are no extra hot dogs or hot dog buns? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: How many hot dogs come in a package? How many hot dog buns come…
How many calories is one _____________? How many ___________ could you eat if you only wanted to eat exactly ________ calories? (one-step equation) How many ___________ could you eat if you only wanted to eat at most ________ calories? (one-step inequality) How many more _________ could you eat if you have already eaten ______ of them…
A company named Hammermill manufactures copy paper that it claims to be “99.99% jam free.” How many paper jams would you expect to have happen? How many paper jams would you expect to have happen in one ream? How many paper jams would you expect to have happen in two reams? How many paper…
This problem’s success depends on students having a sufficient understanding of how a plane measures a vehicle’s speed from the air. The picture below may be useful to help “develop the question” as Dan Meyer has recently blogged about.
You are hosting a barbeque that starts very soon and you want to make as many biscuits as possible with the ingredients you already have. How many biscuits can you make using the available ingredients? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What ingredients do you need to…
How much did the temperature drop? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What is a guess that is too low? What is a guess that is too high? What is your best guess? Why are there two 20’s on each side of the thermometer? How…
How much money is that? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What is a guess that is too low? What is a guess that is too high? What is your best guess? What options do you have for counting this money and what are the…
What fraction is Mini-Me of Dr. Evil? How tall would Mini-Me have to be to be one eighth of Dr. Evil’s size? How tall would Dr. Evil have to be if Mini-Me really was one eighth his size? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What…
You are at a high school carnival’s ticket booth and see the ticket prices below: Which ticket option is the best deal? Which ticket option is the worst deal? Which ticket options are the same deal? How would you suggest they change their prices? These questions may be useful in helping students down…
You are going to Knott’s Berry Farm and are not sure which rides you can go on. What rides are you the right height to go on by yourself? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What information do we need to know to answer this…
NASA stopped painting its space shuttles’ external fuel tank because the paint did not improve performance and they wanted to reduce the shuttle’s overall weight. How much did the external fuel tank’s paint weigh? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What is a guess that…
How much does it cost to cover this classroom in aluminum foil? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What is a guess that is too low? What is a guess that is too high? What is your best guess? What shape are the objects in…
Do four cheese Big Papa’s or one cheese Giant Sicilian give you more pizza for your money? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What is a guess that is too low? What is a guess that is too high? What is your best guess? What…
Your family wants to buy a new Toyota Camry LE and is considering buying the hybrid version if the money saved on gas will be enough to pay the extra cost for the hybrid. How many years will it take from saved gas money to pay for the extra cost for a hybrid?…
You are at the grocery store and have a coupon for $0.50 off of two 16 oz. bags of carrots. You notice that the 16 oz. bags of carrots are selling for $1.99 each and the 32 oz. bags of carrots are selling for $2.99 each. Which carrots should you buy if you…
