Blog Assignment #7

This will be your last blog assignment of the school year.
For this assignment you have a choice of one of the following problems.

Due WEDNESDAY June 9, 2010

Choose the one that appeals to you the most to you.

** If you choose to complete more than one of the choices you will receive extra credit based on quality of work, NOT just completion!! ***

Remember to complete all parts of the problem and be sure to submit your response by Wednesday, June 9th.

A. Write two numbers so that the first number is less than the second number and the absolute value of the first number is greater than the absolute value of the second number.

B. Each edge of a cube is 4 inches long. What is the surface area of the cube in square inches?

C. A large bag of cement weighs 80 pounds. The bag weighs 2 pounds less than the weight of 3 small boxes of cement. Write an equation that can be used to find the weight, w, in pounds, of each small box of cement. (Remember your "let statement")

D. The scores on a mathematics placement exam reported from 5 different middle schools are
35.4, 30.9, 26.1, 30.3, and 31.3. Based on this data, the mean school score is 30.8. An error was found at one of the schools. The corrected score changes 26.1 to 29.6. What is the corrected mean school score?


REMEMBER as always your assignment needs to include;
* Your first name and last initial
* Your class
* Answer each part of the problem that you have chosen to complete
* Explain how you solved the problem
* Is there another way to solve this problem?
AND
* Why did you choose this problem as your last blog assignment? Explain!

Blog Assignment #6 -- ABC Toy Company

Blog Assignment #6 is due April 30th!

ABC Toy Company is planning to market a set of children’s blocks. The package of blocks will contain 26 letter blocks, 10 number blocks, and 12 animal blocks for a total of 48 blocks in the package. Each block is a cube with 1-inch edges, so each block has a volume of 1 cubic inch.

The company wants to arrange the 48 blocks in the shape of a rectangular prism and then package them into a box that exactly fits the prism.

1. Find ALL the ways 48 cubes can be arranged into a rectangular prism.
a. How many ways are there to arrange the 48 cubes?
b. What are the dimensions (length, width, and height) of each rectangular prism?

2. Of the rectangular prisms you found, which one gives the least surface area?
a. Give the dimensions of this prism.
b. What is the surface area of this rectangular prism?

3. Explain why the ABC Toy Company needs to package the blocks using the rectangular prism that gives the smallest surface area.

A gentle reminder:

Assignment - In your comment remember to include the following:

* your name (first name and last initial)

* your class

* the answer to the problem and all of its parts

* an explanation that includes the strategy you used to solve.

* is there another way to solve the problem?* any additional thoughts you have about the problem(s)

*** Please be sure to comment on Blog Assignment #6 so that your assignment is not lost on other posts! ***

Remember when you "publish the comment" it will not appear on the Blog until it is past the due date AND Ms. Saarinen has a chance to read and approve it.

HELP! Mrs. Scagos has been captured!!!

*Attention blog followers, this is not your typical math blog assignment but Ms. Saarinen needs your help! Have no fear, blog assignment #6 will be here in April!*

The following ransom note was left by the villain;

Dear Friends of Scagos-

I've taken your friend to a far away place.

She's not happy there as the lights are on all the time.

I don't want your help, you guys have too much to do. So it's time to get your students involved.

I'll return your teacher as soon as I have been given a creative t-shirt deisgn for the H.E.R.O.E.S team.

Design should be done on plain white paper using only pencil, black pen, or black marker. I've left further details with Ms. Saarinen.

Mrs. Scagos says she needs to be back for April 1st so don't delay, start your design today!

Signed,

BBH

Triangle Blog Assignment #5

Triangle Blog Assignment #5
Blog Assignment #5 must be completed by Friday, March 19th!


For each of the equations below:
1. Solve each equation for the variable.
2. Explain each step you took to solve the problem and find the value of the variable.
3. Justify your reasoning for using the steps that you did to solve the equation.


Equation A: 7t = 10t + 18
Equation B: 14u – 7 = -14 – 7u


4. Compare the two equations. What was the same about them? What was different about them? What did you have to do differently for each of the problems to find the value of the variable?

STOP before proceeding! The idea behind this assignment is for you to be able to use written communication (no drawings, no flowcharts, no typed work showing how to get an answer) to prove that you understand how to solve equations! It does not matter what method you use to solve, but the explanation and justification should be written so that someone who DOES NOT know how to solve equations can learn from you!

A gentle reminder:

Assignment - In your comment remember to include the following:

* your name (first name and last initial)

* your class

* the answer to the problem – there are THREE parts for each equation and then ONE final question about both – be sure to include every part and number the parts

* an explanation that includes the strategy you used to solve.

* is there another way to solve the problem?

* any additional thoughts you have about the problem(s)



*** Please be sure to comment on Blog Assignment #5 so that your assignment is not lost on other posts!



***Remember when you "publish the comment" it will not appear on the Blog until it is past the due date AND Ms. Saarinen has a chance to read and approve it.





image borrowed from: http://www.onlinemathtutor.org/help/wp-content/uploads/math-cartoon-20112009.jpg

Circle, Pentagon and Square - Blog Assignment #5

Circle, Pentagon and Square - Blog Assignment #5

This assignment is due Friday, March 19th!

Choose ONE of the equations below:

1) Solve the equation for the variable.

2) Explain each step you took to solve the problem and find the value of the variable.
3) Justify your reasoning for using the steps that you did to solve the equation.

Equation A: 7t = 10t + 18
Equation B: 14u – 7 = -14 – 7u

STOP before proceeding! The idea behind this assignment is for you to be able to use written communication (no drawings, no flowcharts, no typed work showing how to get an answer) to prove that you understand how to solve equations! It does not matter what method you use to solve, but the explanation and justification should be written so that someone who DOES NOT know how to solve equations can learn from you!

A gentle reminder:

Assignment - In your comment remember to include the following:

* your name (first name and last initial)

* your class

* the answer to the problem – there are THREE parts for each equation– be sure to include every part and number the parts

* an explanation that includes the strategy you used to solve.

* is there another way to solve the problem?

* any additional thoughts you have about the problem(s)

*** Please be sure to comment on Blog Assignment #5 so that your assignment is not lost on other posts! ***

Remember when you "publish the comment" it will not appear on the Blog until it is past the due date AND Ms. Saarinen has a chance to read and approve it.

image borrowed from: http://extrabytes.i.ph/photo/d/160-1/blackboard_math.gif

Blog Assignment #4 -- DUE Friday February 12th

Blog Assignment #4 will focus on writing expressions, then using the expressions to solve for an unknown quantity.

Blog Assignment #4:
You will have TWO choices for this Blog Assignment. Be sure to answer each part of the problem that you choose to do.

Choice #1:
Julia’s phone calling plan is based on a set price $20.00 a month plus $0.04 a minute for calls.
1. If Julia makes m minutes of calls in a month, what would the expression be that would represent Julia’s cost, in dollars for that month? (Be sure to use “Let Statements” to set this up!)
2. Use your expression to solve each of the following (be sure to explain IN WORDS how you solved each of these):
a. What would Julia’s cost be if she spent 175 minutes on the phone in one month?
b. If Julia’s phone bill in one month was $29.12, how many minutes did she spend on the phone?


Choice #2:
Every morning, Tommy and his dog, Rex, run to the local park, around the park, and back home. It is 525 meters to the park and x meters around the park.
1. Write two expressions for the total distance, in meters that Tommy and his dog run in a week. One of your expressions should involve parentheses. (Be sure to use “Let Statements” to set this up!)
2. Use either of your expressions to solve each of the following (be sure to explain IN WORDS how you solved each of these):
a. What would the total distance be that Tommy and Rex ran, in meters, if the distance around the park was 2200 meters?
b. If you know that Tommy and Rex ran 17,850 meters in one week, what would be the distance around the park?

Reminder:Assignment - In your comment remember to include the following:* your name (first name and last initial only)* your class* the answer to the problem – there are THREE parts – be sure to include every part and number the expressions* an explanation that includes the strategy you used to solve.* is there another way to solve the problem?* any additional thoughts you have about the problem(s)* refer to the Rubric as you answer the blog to ensure that you get the best possible score
*** Please be sure to comment on Blog Assignment #4 so that your assignment is not lost on other posts! ***

Remember when you "publish the comment" it will not appear on the Blog until it is past the due date AND Ms. Saarinen has a chance to read and approve it.

Blog Assignment #3 --(due date 1/29/10)

Since the NHL started having the “Winter Classic”, an outdoor hockey game that takes place on New Year’s Day, many people have become more interested in watching hockey regularly. Ms. Saarinen’s dad has always been a hockey fan and has decided to take the family to go visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada. Ms. Saarinen wasn’t sure she wanted to make the trip because as you know, she doesn’t like the cold weather. Ms. Saarinen asked her math to help her find the average temperature in Toronto to help her prepare for the trip.

The average daily temperatures (in Fahrenheit) in Toronto for the previous two weeks are:

+1, -1, 0, -2, +4, -1, -1, -9, -6, -9, -12, -2, 0, and +3.
1. What is the range of the data?
2. What is the median temperature?
3. What is the mean temperature?
4. What is the mode temperature?
5. How would the mean change if the next day’s temperature of +7 was included in the data?

BONUS: Suppose you were told that the average temperature in Toronto for one week in December was -1 degree Fahrenheit. You could read on the data table that six of the temperatures were -2, +3, -5, 0, +4, and -1 but the last temperature was too blurry to read. What is the missing temperature?

A gentle reminder:Assignment - In your comment remember to include the following:

* your name (first name and last initial)

* your class

* the answer to the problem – there are FIVE parts (or SIX including the bonus question) – be sure to include every part and number the expressions

* an explanation that includes the strategy you used to solve.* is there another way to solve the problem?

* any additional thoughts you have about the problem(s)

*** Please be sure to comment on Blog Assignment #3 so that your assignment is not lost on other posts! ***Remember when you "publish the comment" it will not appear on the Blog until it is past the due date AND Ms. Saarinen has a chance to read and approve it.

Your blog #3 assignment is due no later than Friday, January 29, 2010

http://sportsstore.usatoday.com/Gordie-Howe-Detroit-Red-Wings-Autographed-Hockey-Puck-_1781220796_PD.html (url for image)