& the Not-So-Amazing Day

By: Jose Gonzales

Meet Captain Amazing – your typical marvelous superhero.

KA-POW

!

BAM!

Captain Amazing could

do everything other

superheroes could do.

He could leap tall buildings

in a single bound, punch

through a wall like it was

tissue paper, and even melt

through steel with his heat

vision.

I fought Captain

Amazing and all I got was

this black eye!

PLUS…he could

make one mean

chocolate soufflé

like nobody’s

business. The only problem was…

Captain Amazing wasn’t

the brightest crayon in

the box. He’d rather foil a robbery than do

homework any day.

One day, Captain Amazing and the Amazing

League decided to celebrate Marveloso’s birthday with a surprise party!

1

Everyone was assigned

a special snack to bring

to the party. Naturally,

Captain Amazing

volunteered to bring his

Amazing Soufflé.

OH! OH! Pick me! Pick me!

Quicker than you can say, “Gosh, that was fast!”

Captain Amazing hopped in his Amazing-Mobile

and headed to the store to buy the necessary

ingredients.

“Ok,” thought Captain

Amazing, “what does

Grandma Amazing’s recipe

say I need?”• 1 ounces (oz.) Cream• 1/5 cup Sugar• 4 ounces (oz.) Chocolate• ½ tablespoon (tbsp.)

Butter• 2 Eggs

“Hmm,” he thought, “Grandma Amazing’s

recipe only makes enough soufflé for 2

people. How many people will be at the

party?” Captain Amazing thought a little

harder. “There’s Spandex-Boy, the Caped

Avenger, Flower Girl, and….”

Total, there would be 10 guests at the party.

All that thinking made Captain Amazing’s

head hurt. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to do

a whole lot more of that “smart stuff.”

If 10 guests show up to the party, would Captain Amazing need MORE or LESS ingredients than the recipe calls

for? Can you estimate how much?

“The recipe makes

enough for 2 people,

and I need to make

enough soufflé for 10 of

my friends. How many

batches would I have to

make?” thought Captain

Amazing.

If 10 friends show up…

1 5 4 3 2

10 9 8 7 6

If each batch feeds two friends, how many batches would Captain Amazing need?

1 batch

1 batch

1 batch

1 batch

1 ba

tch

“I’ll need to make 5 batches!” he exclaimed.

By this point, Captain Amazing was feeling a

little dizzy. “If I need to make 5 batches of

the recipe, how much of each ingredient do I

need?”

Eggs

+

+

+

+ = 10 eggs

2 eggs x 5 batches

2 eggs

1 batch

2 eggs

1 batch

2 eggs

1 batch

2 eggs

1 batch

2 eggs

1 batch

How many eggs would Captain Amazing need for 5 batches?

= 5 batches

This problem can be also written as:

2 x 5 = 10

Chocolate

4 oz x 5 batches

+ + + +

4 oz.

1 batch

4 oz.

1 batch

4 oz.

1 batch

4 oz.

1 batch

4 oz.

1 batch

= 20 oz.

5 batches

How much chocolate would Captain Amazing need for 5 batches?

This problem can be also written as: 4 x 5 = 20

Butter

How much butter would Captain Amazing need for 5 batches?

½ tbsp.

1 batch

+ +

½ tbsp.

1 batch

+ +

½ tbsp.

1 batch

½ tbsp.

1 batch

½ tbsp.

1 batch

= 2 ½ tbsp.

5 batches

This problem can be also written as: ½ cup x 5 batches

½ x 5 = 2 ½

Sugar

1/5 cup x 5 batches

+

+

+

+ = 1 cup

1/5 cup

1 batch

1/5 cup

1 batch

1/5 cup

1 batch

1/5 cup

1 batch

1/5 cup

1 batch

How much sugar would Captain Amazing need for 5 batches?

= 5 batches

1/5 cup

1/5 cup

1/5 cup

1/5 cup

1/5 cup = 1 cup

This problem can be also written as:

1/5 x 5 = 1

Now YOU try it!

Try to calculate how much creamCaptain Amazing needs for 5 batches.

Remember, he needs 1 oz. of cream for one batch.

What kind of math would you use?

Cream

+ + + +

1 oz. x 5 batches

1 oz.

1 batch

1 oz.

1 batch

1 oz.

1 batch

1 oz.

1 batch

1 oz.

1 batch

= 5 oz.

1 batch

This problem can be also written as: 1 x 5 = 5

If you did it like this, you’re correct!

How much of each ingredient?How much of each ingredient?

1 oz. Cream x 5 batches = 5 oz.

1/5 cup Sugar

x 5 batches = 2 ½ tablespoons

4 oz. Chocolate x 5 batches = 20 oz.

½ tablespoon Butter

x 5 batches = 10 eggs2 Eggs

x 5 batches = 1 cup

“OWWW!” Captain

Amazing said while

rubbing his head. “This

math stuff is like my

kryptonite!” After lying

down for a quick

Amazing Nap, Captain

Amazing felt a lot better.

Now that he found out how much of each

ingredient he needed, it was just a matter of

picking them out and buying them.

Hmm…no trans fat

Zippity Do Da!

Little did Captain Amazing know, today was mega-discount day at the supermarket. Every item marked with a blue sticker is ½ off, and items with a red sticker are 1/5 off. off.

½ OFF!

1/5 OFF!

Stopping a cometcareening towards

Earth was easycompared to this

math stuff!

Sooo Tired…

However, MarvelosoDID save him frombeing eaten by ahoard of piranhas

before, so making asoufflé was the least

he could do.

As it turns out, most of the ingredients

needed had stickers on them. Both the eggs

and the butter had blue stickers, and the

chocolate and the sugar had red stickers.

Captain Amazing looked at the prices.

The prices were…

$0.50 each

$1.50 dozen

$0.50 per

tbsp. $0.75

per cup

$1.00 per

ounce

How much of each ingredient did Captain Amazing need again?

• 10 eggs• 1 cup sugar• 20 oz. chocolate (5

bars)• 2 ½ tbsp. butter• 5 oz. cream

• One dozen (12) eggs = $1.50

(eggs are only sold by the dozen)

• 1 cup sugar = $0.75• 1 chocolate bar =

$0.50• 1 tbsp. butter = $0.50• 1 oz. cream = $1.00

What were the prices of the ingredients?

How much will the ingredients cost Captain Amazing?

Needs 10 eggs.

12 eggs costs $1.50

How much will Captain Amazing spend on eggs?

= $1.50

Needs 1 cup of sugar

A cup of sugar costs $0.75.

How much will Captain Amazing spend on sugar? = $0.75

How about the chocolate?

Need 5 chocolate bars

1 bar costs $0.50.

How much will Captain Amazing spend on 5 bars?

$0.50 x 5

$0.50 + $0.50 + $0.50 + $0.50 + $0.50

$1.00 + $1.00 + $0.50

= $2.50

Needs 2 ½ tbsp. butter.

1 tbsp. butter costs $0.50.

How much will Captain Amazing spend on butter?

2 ½ x $0.50

$0.50 + $0.50 + ½ of $0.50 =

$1.00 + $0.25

= $1.25

And the butter?

$0.50 is two quarters. What is ½ of two?

1 is ½ of two. 1 quarter = $0.25

Captain Amazing Needs Your Help!

Captain Amazing still needs to find out how much the cream will cost him.

Can you find out how much Captain Amazing would spend to make 5

batches of souffle?

What would the math look like?

What do you think 1/5 off the total price would mean?

Finally, the cream?Needs 5 oz. cream.

1 oz. cream costs $1.00.

How much will Captain Amazing spend on cream?

5 x $1.00

$1.00 + $1.00 + $1.00 + $1.00

$2.00 + $2.00 + $1.00

= $5.00

How much money will Captain Amazing spend?

$1.00 +

$1.50$0.75

$2.50 $1.25

$5.00+

0

1

.0

2

$11

“$11.00!” Captain Amazing exclaimed, “Ya know, this whole

math stuff ain’t as hard as it seems.” As soon as he was finished, Captain Amazing

gathered all his ingredients in his cart and made his way to the

check-out counter.

“Eggs, butter, sugar,

chocolate, and cream…

that’ll be $8.60, please.”

said the cashier.

“Uh-oh” thought Captain

Amazing. “That wasn’t

the total I got.”

What did Captain Amazing do wrong?

“You forgot about the

stickers!” said the

cashier. “Today is

mega-discount day.”

“Oh,” thought Captain

Amazing, “So how does

that work again?”

Every item with a sticker

has a discount. Items

with blue stickers are ½

off, and those with red

stickers are 1/5 off the

total price.

• ½ off eggs

• ½ off chocolate

• 1/5 off butter

• 1/5 off sugar

• No discount on creamHow much of a

discount did Captain Amazing get on his

items?

EggsPrice = $1.50. Discount = ½ off

= $1.25

How many quarters is one dollar worth?

We now have 6 quarters

Taking ½ of the price means that if we were to separate the money of the price into two groups, and taking one part of each group, how much would we have?

6 quarters can be divided into three equal groups of

two. Now we take one quarter from each group.

We have taken two quarters = $0.50.$1.50- $0.50 = $1.00. The discounted price of the eggs is $1.00.

1 3 4 5 6

$0.25$0.25$0.25

2

$0.25$0.25$0.25

3 quarters is ½ of 6 quarters. $0.75 is ½ of $1.50

ChocolatePrice = $2.50. Discount = ½ off

= $2.50

Do you remember how many quarters each dollar is worth?

We now have 10 quarters total.

We can now take 1 quarter from each group.

5 quarters is ½ of 10 quarters. $2.50 - $1.25 = $1.25. The discounted price of the

chocolate is $1.25

1 2 3 4 8765 1109

Now we divide the 10 quarters into equal groups of 2.

1 1112 1222 2

We have taken 5 quarters

$1.25 is ½ of 10 quarters

Butter Price = $1.25. Discount = 1/5 off

= $1.25

How many quarters is each dollar worth?

Taking 1/5 of $1.25 means that we need to separate the quarters into groups of 5 and take one from each group.

We can now take 1 quarter from the group of 5.

$1.25 - $0.25 = $1.00

The discounted price of the butter is $1.00

Do you remember how many quarters each dollar is worth?

We now have 5 quarters1 4 532

$0.25 $0.25 $0.25 $0.25 $0.25

We have taken 1 quarter. The discount is $0.25.

1 quarter is 1/5 of 5 quarters.

$0.25 is 1/5 of $1.25

SugarPrice = $0.75. Discount = 1/5 off

= $0.75

Much like with the butter, to find the discount, we need to divide the 3 quarters into groups of 5. Since we don’t have 5 quarters, we will have to

trade them up for nickels.

We can now take one nickel from each group.

How many nickels are in each quarter?

$0.05 $0.05 $0.05$0.05 $0.05 $0.05$0.05$0.05 $0.05$0.05

$0.05 $0.05 $0.05 $0.05$0.05 = 15 nickels

3 nickels is 1/5 of 15 nickelsWe have taken 3 nickels = $0.15.

$0.15 is 1/5 of $0.75$0.75 - $0.15 = $0.60

The discounted price of the sugar is $0.60

How much will Captain Amazing spend now?

d Eggs $0.75

Chocolate $1.25

Butter $1.00Sugar $0.60Cream $5.00

+

Captain Amazing will spend $8.60 on all the ingredients

1

06

1

$8.

“Oooh!” exclaimed

Captain Amazing while

slapping his forehead.

The party was in less

than two hours! Quicker

than a rabbit on a pair

of skates, Captain

Amazing was in the

Amazing-Mobile and on

his way back to the

Amazing Lair.

For the next hour and a half,

Captain Amazing was hard

at work making his Amazing

Soufflés. Rather than

making 5 different batches,

he decided to make one big

Soufflee that could be

divided up evenly among

the Amazing League.

Before he knew it, the

members of the Amazing

League were ringing his

doorbell. Luckily, Captain

Amazing was pulling the

soufflé out of the oven just

as Mysterio and Captain

Amazing’s secret crush,

Amazing Girl.

Over the next hour, more and more superheroes

showed up at the Amazing Lair, much more than

Captain Amazing calculated. “Fizzle-sticks!” he

thought, “I only made enough soufflé for 10 people!”

Captain Amazing made a quick count of all

the people in the room. After a slight anxiety

attack, he counted 20 superheroes.

Now I have to bake a whole new soufflé…

a

Does Captain Amazing need to bake a new soufflé? Why or why not?

a

Can Captain Amazing now divide the Souffle up for 20 people instead

of 10?

Will the pieces be bigger or smaller than if Captain Amazing was only

dividing the Soufflé up for 10 people?

Here is the Amazing Soufflé:

What are 2 ways Captain Amazing

can cut the Soufflé for 10 people?

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Why is Captain Amazing allowed to do this? Do we still have the same amount of soufflé in both cases?

10

If Captain Amazing cut

the soufflé like this,

can he cut it so that he

has 20 pieces; one for

each of his friends?

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10How many pieces does Captain Amazing have

now? Does he have enough for all of his

friends?

How many pieces?Captain Amazing

has 20 pieces of souffle! There’s

enough for all his friends to have the same-size piece! Captain Amazing breathed a sigh of relief, “Whew! That was a close call!”

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Captain Amazing handed out all of the Amazing Soufflé tohis superhero friends. Everybody got a piece, and they allagreed: the dessert was quite…well, amazing. The math

was hard, and the times got tough, but such a feat isnothing for…

AMAZIN’!

Pictures cited1) www.clipart.com2) Personal photo3) http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=011812&tid=0014) http://home.howstuffworks.com/catering.htm5) http://mabreys.blogspot.com/6) http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/Sweet-indulgences/2005/03/24/1111525291548.html7) http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/what/food_and_beverages/food/408432_two_eggs.php?id=4084328) http://truestaragent.net/Notes/1957006.html9) http://www.deca.org/hershey_27s.html10) http://www.slashfood.com/2006/03/03/how-to-make-your-own-butter11) http://www.sugarfreesheila.com/FAQ.html12) http://craigan.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/money.jpg13) http://www.jeklb-oddness.4t.com/whats_new.html14) http://www.chrisbusch.com/2005/08/15) http://academic.emporia.edu/smithwil/00sum476/wa4-2/walmart%20cashier.jpg16) http://www.moneyfactory.gov/document.cfm/5/43/13517) http://www.sammler.com/coins/coininfo.htm18) http://monticello.org/highlights/houdon.html19) http://www.odense.com/recipes/orr.cfm?recipeid=5120) http://www.virtualflorist.com/en/images/items/superhero_l.jpg21) http://www.illustratortechniques.com/gallery/view/image/148