The Suburbs

Elementary

Intermediate
 

 

Stop #1
Are the two garage doors congruent?  How could you prove that? Is the second story similar in shape to the first story? How would you prove whether it is or isn't?
 

 

Stop #2
If the scooter can go 1/4 as fast as the bicyclist, and the bicyclist can travel two blocks in one minute, how long would it take the scooter to travel one block? Find the ratio of circumference to diameter for an automobile wheel, bicycle wheel and scooter wheel.  What is the pattern you notice?
 

 

Stop #3
Estimate the number of blades of grass in one square foot of lawn. How can you use the shadow of a tree to find the height of the tree?
 

 

Stop #4
How would you use a measuring cup and wristwatch to determine how many gallons of water this man would use if he runs the hose for 10 minutes?
 

 

Stop #5
Use a ruler to make a fast estimate of the total number of square inches covered by the bricks. The edge of the brick path forms a triangle with the edge of the driveway and the fence on the porch.  Measure the lengths of the sides and determine if it is a right triangle.
 

 

Stop #6
Hold a ruler out at arm's length and walk far enough away from this telephone pole so that the ruler just covers the pole, top to bottom.  Use this information plus two other measurements to find the height of the telephone pole.
 

 

Stop #7
What is the average height of the boards in this fence?  Is it the same, more than, or less than the median height?
 

 

Stop #8
In a basketball games, sometimes the baskets are worth three points, and sometimes they are worth two points.  If a team scores 12 points in a short game, how many different combinations of two point and three point shots could they have made?  In one game of 8 players, 12 baskets are scored in 6 minutes.  In another game of 6 players, 16 baskets are scored in 8 minutes.  Which game has better basket shooters?
 

 

Stop #9
Count how many cars go by in two minutes, and estimate how many go by in an hour. 
 

 

Stop #10
Suppose one family of 8 rented two canoes for one hour each, a row boat for two hours and a paddle boat for 1 and 1/2 hours.  How much did they pay? If a group of 10 people has $20 to rent boats, name two different ways they could spend their money so that everyone gets to spend at least one half hour in a boat.
 

 

Stop #11
When a person who weighs 150 pounds gets in the boat, the boat goes down 2 centimeters farther into the water.  How much farther will the boat  go down if another person gets into the boat who weighs 200 pounds? If one person can paddle for twenty minutes and travel 1/2 mile, how long would it take two people together to paddle two miles?
 

 

Stop #12
When you swing higher and faster, does the swing go back and forth more times per minute than when you don't make the swing go as high?  Do an experiment to find out. If the top of the large pipe support is an exact semicircle, make measurements and find the exact total length of pipe that is above ground.
 

 

Stop #13
Experiment: What angle should you kick the soccer ball to make it go the farthest before it hits the ground?