Trains!

Early Childhood

Draw a train with ten cars. Color the cars using an ABCABC pattern.  What color is the fifth car?  The seventh car? If there was an eleventh car, what color would it be?  Explain how you know.Create a different train pattern, and ask a partner your math questions!

Upper Elementary

A family of four is taking a train trip from Boston, MA to Portland, ME.  The cost of an adult ticket is $57.85.  The cost of a child’s ticket is $45.72.  If the family includes two adults and two children, calculate the cost of all four tickets.  Use a tape diagram to explain your thinking.BONUS: If the tickets are purchased in MA with 6.25% sales tax, calculate the cost of the four tickets including tax.

Middle School

Augie wants to catch a train that leaves at 10:45 A.M. and must ride his bike to the station, which is 6 miles away. The first 2 miles are uphill, the next 2 miles are flat, and the last 2 miles are downhill. Augie can ride at 2 miles per hour (MPH) going uphill, 3 MPH on level ground, and 4 MPH going downhill. He figures his average speed will be 3 MPH, so he plans to leave his house at 8:40 A.M. He thinks he will then have five minutes to lock his bike and get on the train. Will he catch the train? Why or why not?

Use a math model to explain your thinking.

From NCTM Menu of Problems,  April 1999

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Featured Websites:

Early Childhood: Growing Patterns

Upper Elementary: If I Owned a Bullet Train

Middle School:  SAT Math: The Distance Formula