Have a stack of quarters from the floor to the top of your head OR $225?
Whichever answer you choose, justify your reasoning with mathematics.
Help for teachers:
According to Wikipedia, average height for girls by age:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Female_Stature_vs_Age.svg
According to Wikipedia, average height for boys by age:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Male_Stature_vs_Age.svg
If you want a better conversation, change the $225 to suit your class needs:
http://bit.ly/1jL4qEq
Oh, thickness of a quarter might help:
http://bit.ly/1hKhPNz
Let me know if you use this one and how it goes!
I love this idea! Used this activity as a quick class starter with my Algebra 2 class today. They immediately asked for the width of a quarter and once they had that info, could quickly find their answer. I might ask them to estimate first and then give them the width if I do it again. Some went a step further and figured out at what height it would be best to take the $225 instead of the quarters. Some who were close to that height decided they would rather sacrifice a couple of dollars instead of having to deal with so many quarters. Overall, some good discussion, even though this activity is probably better suited to junior high level.
THIS. IS. PERFECT. Thank you for sharing! It’s true that the standard is intended for a junior high level, but you took the question and scaled it up amazingly to meet the needs of your students. Have a great day! What level are your students at? I’ll try to think of something related to concepts that you’re working on.
THIS. IS. PERFECT. Thank you for sharing! It’s true that the standard is intended for a junior high level, but you took the question and scaled it up amazingly to meet the needs of your students. Have a great day! What level are your students at? I’ll try to think of something related to concepts that you’re working on.
I did this activity this morning with my grade 6 and 7 students. At that age, they all took the stack. I had one student tell me he wanted the $225 because he didn’t want that many quarters!
I did this activity this morning with my grade 6 and 7 students. At that age, they all took the stack. I had one student tell me he wanted the $225 because he didn’t want that many quarters!
Did you see in there, Lee, that I’ve included a blank template to replace $225 with a more age-appropriate average? Either way, thank you for sharing!
Did you see in there, Lee, that I’ve included a blank template to replace $225 with a more age-appropriate average? Either way, thank you for sharing!
UGH! I am SO technically inept! I am trying to edit the dollar amount from the link but I cannot get into the box to edit the number. What am I missing (other than the most rudimentary computer skills)? Can I change the dollar amount to $250?
UGH! I am SO technically inept! I am trying to edit the dollar amount from the link but I cannot get into the box to edit the number. What am I missing (other than the most rudimentary computer skills)? Can I change the dollar amount to $250?
This was an awesome activity. I just happened to have $4 in quarters in my purse, so I passed around stacks of $1 in quarters for students to measure. They discovered that $1 is roughly 1/4″ or 0.75 cm. Because of the rigor of this problem, most of my students needed more time than I usually give for a warm up. This could easily be part of a 3-act lesson regarding conversions or proportions.
This was an awesome activity. I just happened to have $4 in quarters in my purse, so I passed around stacks of $1 in quarters for students to measure. They discovered that $1 is roughly 1/4″ or 0.75 cm. Because of the rigor of this problem, most of my students needed more time than I usually give for a warm up. This could easily be part of a 3-act lesson regarding conversions or proportions.