MATH - CRUISE WORD PROBLEMS

Objectives:
Students will learn about life onboard the NOAA Research Vessel Ronald H. Brown and practice basic arithmetic by completing word problems.
Students will practice basic arithmetic by creating word problems relating to their school or home.

Age: grades 3 - 5

Time: 1 hour

Materials:
Copies of word problem handout for each student

Instruction:

Students should already have had some exposure to word problems. Teacher can reintroduce this concept, or jump right into the lesson. Hand out the word problems to each student to complete individually.

Remind the students to check their answers as they are working on them, and again when they are done. Do they make sense given the question that is being asked? It is important for students to think about math and the answers they expect, rather that just plug in numbers and circle an answer.

For homework, have each student write 2 word problems based on their school or home. There is a large opportunity for variation among student responses. This is an opportunity for students to think about the environments they are in, while converting some of those familiar environments into numerical terms.

Evaluation / Assessment
Students will be assessed on successful completion of the word problems and successful writing of 2 word problems of their own creation. It is important to check that the student-written problems include enough information that a third party could answer the question.

Worksheet

Name: _____________

Research Cruise Word Problems

(You may use a calculator but remember to show your work!)

If the RV Brown traveled at 10 mile per hour, 24 hours a day, for 17 days, how many miles would it travel all together?

The RV Brown has 52 people onboard. Each person is either part of the Scientific Party or part of the crew. If there are 28 people in the Scientific Party, how many crewmembers are there on the ship?

There are 52 people on the ship. Nine are women. How many men are on the ship?

The women on the ship like to drink a lot of water - 5 glasses a day. The men only drink 3 glasses a day. If the ship is at sea for 17 days, what is the minimum amount of drinking water it needs to keep everyone's thirst quenched?

Everyone on the ship loves to receive email from their family and friends. If the average person sends 400kb of data each day, how many kb of email is sent of the ship after 17 days?

Fire drills are done once a week on the ship. Abandon ship drills are done once a week. Man overboard drills are done once a month on the ship. If the ship is at sea for exactly one month, how many drills will there be?

There are 52 people on the ship. One-half of the people like to have 2 slices of bread with their dinner. One quarter of the people like to have 1 slice with their dinner. The rest have no bread with dinner. How many people have no bread with dinner?

If a package of bread has 30 slices in it, what is the fewest number of packages of bread that must be put out for dinner so everyone gets what they want?

In the space below, write 2 word problems using numbers from your home or school. Be sure to solve the problem, showing your work.

1.

2.

Note for educators: Although Jennifer and Jane's reseearch cruise ended, the EPIC research continues. Please use this web site, Jennifer and Jane's lesson plans, daily logs, the videos, and the photos to educate your students about climate, El Niño, and scientific research in general.

Consider this web site, as well as the TAO web site, a resource for teaching your students.

Many organizations and countries are involved in funding the EPIC Experiment. Primary U. S. funding is provided by The National Science Foundation and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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