How many Hanukkah candles will we need? How many Hanukkah candles would we need if Hanukkah lasted 10 nights? 50 nights? n nights? 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 candles are being…
Download The Situation The Challenge(s) How effective is each password requirement in making a password take longer to hack using brute force? What is the longest amount of time it would take a computer to hack your password? What recommendations would you make regarding password requirements so that they are as secure as possible?…
Download The Situation The Challenge(s) How do skytypers write messages? Question(s) To Ask These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: Would this message look different to you if you were viewing it from a plane above the message instead of on the ground? Consider This As the video explains,…
Pipes can be stacked in a staggered pattern or non-staggered pattern. With that as a reference, watch this video: How much shorter are 20 layers of staggered pipe stacks? How much shorter are n layers of staggered pipe stacks? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving…
How can we correct the Scarecrow’s statement so it is mathematically precise? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: How can we determine if the Scarecrow is correct when he mentions “any two sides”? This problem is a great way to introduce CCSS 8.G.6 or…
A picture of a cheeseburger (to establish that it has one cheese slice and one burger patty): A picture of a Double-Double (to establish that it has two cheese slices and two burger patties): A picture of a 20×20 burger (to establish that it has 20 cheese slices and 20 burger patties): Below are…
The field below is covered with many green circular shapes. Each circle is caused by a sprinkler that was only able to water grass within its spraying radius. Some areas of the field were not close enough to a sprinkler, received little to no water, and now have dead grass.
You want to make a video game similar to the one below and are beginning by animating Ms. Pac-Man. How can you describe Ms. Pac-Man’s movements? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What movement did Ms. Pac-Man make? What was the very first thing Ms.…
How do astronomers estimate how many stars exist? How many stars are there in the universe? 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? Can we…
You are trying to buy a toy that is sold out in all of your local toy stores. You decide to use the Toys R Us website’s store locator to find the nearest store location. Which stores are 5 miles or less from you? Which stores are 10 miles or less from you?…
Apple says its iPhone 5’s display “has a pixel density so high your eye can’t distinguish individual pixels.” What is the iPhone 5’s pixel density? What are other phones’ pixel density? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path: What is pixel density and why does it…
Sunspots create solar flares that can damage satellites in orbit, disable GPS systems, and cause power failures in cities. The larger the sunspot, the higher the chance of creating a powerful solar flare. How big is Sunspot AR 1476? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem solving path:…
Many theme parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios offer annual passes where customers can pay for the whole year in advance or pay a little in the beginning and make smaller payments each month for the rest of the year. Which payment option saves you the most money? These questions may be…
In 2010, an enormous sinkhole (pictured below) suddenly appeared in the middle of a Guatemalan neighborhood and swallowed a three-story building above it. How much material will they need to fill the sinkhole? How much will it cost to fill the sinkhole in? These questions may be useful in helping students down the problem…
Chuck E. Cheese’s (and many other arcades) have a game called Skee Ball where you roll a ball up a ramp and into a hole to earn points. You earn more points when the ball goes into smaller holes. The more points you earn, the more tickets you get to buy prizes with. As…
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…
One type of toilet comes in two models: dual flush or single flush. The dual flush toilet has two buttons: one flushes “solids” with more water and “liquids” with less water. The single flush toilet always flushes with the same amount of water. When would both toilets use the same amount of water?…
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?…
What if the convenience store did not run out of hot dogs for rival competitive eaters Takeru Kobayashi and Sonya “Black Widow” Thomas to eat? How many hot dogs were on the grill before Kobayashi ordered the first hot dog? How many hot dogs would each person eat in Round 20? How many…
“At 79 inches tall (6’10”), our Jumbo Giant Gumball Machine is one HUGE gumball machine that will tower over children and adults alike! This gumball machine has a massive globe that can hold ##,### gumballs, but comes with a smaller inner globe to allow you to stock it with ##,### gumballs to save money…
