A numeracy problem

Watch the movie, and apologies for the less than perfect quality. ……. I was learning some new technology skills

Watch the movie….and apologies for the quality but Phil was learning to film and I was learning how to use imovie!

How many litres of petrol were in my petrol tank before I filled up?

Watch the movie again and make any notes about information that you need.

You can ask me questions after you have taken notes.

Here is the final total

Neil filled up his car with petrol. His tank holds 50 litres of petrol. Petrol costs $1.779 per litre. He bought a NZ Herald for $1.90 He bought three chocolate bars which each cost $2.49. The chocolate was on offer, 3 for 2. Because he bought the chocolate, he got 4c per litre off the

cost of the petrol. He bought a 2 degrees top up of $20 The total bill was $73.69 How many litres of petrol were in Neil’s car before he filled

up?

23.08 litres of petrol

So………….. Is this sort of an activity a worthwhile learning experience

for our students? If so, why? What advantages does the film problem have over the

word problem? Can you change the question to move the problem up or

down a level in the curriculum? Are there cross curricular opportunities? Anything else?

On it are some wonderful ready prepared activities.

If you like we can look at one that he (and I) think is one of his best.

Its about graphing straight lines.