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A Day at the Amusement Park

Elementary Math WebQuest

By That Math Lady

www.thatmathlady.com © 2012

Your Student’s Mission

• Your student is planning a day-trip to a local amusement park with a maximum of 4 guests.

• The trip must include rented car transportation from their house (or a local destination) to the amusement park and back home.

• The student will also calculate mileage, fuel usage, and the price of the trip as well as admittance to the park (and a food allowance).

• If an amusement park is not an option, consider a trip to theaters, museums, national parks, etc.

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Math Standards• Time:

– CCSS.Math.Content.3.MD.A.1 Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes.– CCSS.Math.Content.4.MD.A.2 Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, and money.– CCSS.Math.Content.4.OA.A.3 Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using

the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted.

• Money:– CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.C.8 Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢

symbols appropriately.– CCSS.Math.Content.3.OA.A.3 Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal

groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

– CCSS.Math.Content.4.MD.A.2 Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, and money.– CCSS.Math.Content.4.OA.A.3 Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using

the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted.– CCSS.Math.Content.5.NBT.A.4 Use place value understanding to round decimals to any place.

• Length:– CCSS.Math.Content.3.OA.A.3 Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal

groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

– CCSS.Math.Content.4.MD.A.2 Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, and money.– CCSS.Math.Content.4.OA.A.3 Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using

the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted.

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Step One: Calculating Distance

• Students must determine the distance from their house to the local amusement park of their choice.

• To obtain this data, students may use:– Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/)– Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/)– Bing Maps (http://www.bing.com/maps/)– Yahoo Maps (http://maps.yahoo.com/)

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Step Two: Renting a Vehicle

• Students are responsible for “renting a vehicle” from a well-known, yet local, rental company. They must consider the price of the vehicle for a one-day rental, the fuel efficiency of that vehicle, and passenger capacity (they can take up to 4 guests with them).

• To obtain this data, students may use:– CarRentals (www.carrentals.com) – Kayak (www.kayak.com/cars)– Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com/car-rental/)

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Step Three: Analyzing the Rented Vehicle for Travel

• Students must analyze the fuel efficiency of the vehicle and calculate the amount of gas that will be needed to drive from their house, to the park, and back.

• The student will need to know the car’s mpg (miles per gallon), fuel tank size, and current price of gas.

• To obtain this data, students may use:– GasBuddy (http://www.gasbuddy.com/)– Motor Trend (http://www.motortrend.com/new_cars/)

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Step Four: Planning the Trip

• Students must determine the time of travel from their original destination to the park.

• Students must plan for 6 hours at the park (during open hours only).• Students must create an itinerary of travel from the time they leave

their house until the time they arrive back.• Students must also choose a number of guests that are going on the

trip with them; they must account for $20/person for food when calculating costs.

• To obtain this data, students may use the information gathered during Step One (Calculating Distance) and the information gathered at their amusement park’s home website. Some examples include:– Walt Disney World (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/)– Carowinds (http://www.carowinds.com)– Cedar Point (http://www.cedarpoint.com)

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Step Five: Putting it ALL TOGETHER!

• The student will organize and present his planning, including all web resources.

• The student will present his findings in a multimedia presentation (PowerPoint, Prezi, YouTube video, etc.)

• Student will be assessed on his understanding and application of the math standards (see rubric on Slide 10)

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Teacher Tips

• Model, model, model! Make sure you encourage your students to problem solve by demonstration!

• Consider using each step as a checkpoint in this assignment. Formatively assess student productivity and understanding.

• Allow students to work in small groups on this project-based learning assignment.

• Encourage parents to become involved and guide (and monitor) students while using the Internet at home.

• Foster independent thinking!

Math RubricStandards 4 3 2 1

CCSS.Math.Content.3.OA.A.3/ CCSS.Math.Content.4.OA.A.3

Student predicts travel costs based on any

previous knowledge and then compares

predictions with scenario outcomes.

Student can calculate travel costs by dividing miles traveled by car’s mpg (then multiplying

mpg by price of gas/gallon).

Student makes some minor errors in

calculations.

Major calculation errors display inability

to multiply/divide units.

CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.C.8

Student creates a reasonable budget prior

to trip planning; successfully calculates

costs and displays costs using a graph or table.

Student successfully calculates cost of trip inc. car rental, fuel,

food, and park admission

Student attempts to calculate trip costs,

however makes some errors.

The frequency of student errors clearly demonstrate a lack of comprehension and

ability to apply money adding skills.

CCSS.Math.Content.3.MD.A.1

In addition to the itinerary, student takes traffic, rest area stops

and/or other traffic incidentals into

consideration while trip planning.

Student’s itinerary is broken down into time of travel to-and-from park and time at park, clearly demonstrating his ability to calculate

elapsed time.

Student’s itinerary is missing

departure/arrival times or includes minor calculation errors.

Student’s itinerary is incomplete and/or

inc. major errors that demonstrate a lack of

understanding elapsed time.

CCSS.Math.Content.4.MD.A.2

Student can total the cost of the trip, miles

traveled and time spent per traveler in addition to the group in a clearly

formatted way.

Student can total the cost of the trip, miles

traveled and time spent for the group of

travelers in a clearly formatted way.

Student’s presentation contains an

insignificant error in calculating either total cost, miles traveled, or

time spent.

Student’s presentation of

material is difficult to assess for clear understanding.

CCSS.Math.Content.5.NBT.A.4

Student can round prices; gives various

reasons why estimating to the nearest tenth or whole dollar is helpful.

Student can round prices to the nearest

tenth, as to not include hundredths (cents).

Student calculates all prices as-is and

estimates final totals to the nearest whole

dollar.

Student does not accurately estimate

costs.

www.thatmathlady.com © 2012

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WebQuest Summary

• Why a WebQuest?– Student-centered– Project-based Learning (PBL)– Interactive with technology– Creates opportunities for literacy in a math classroom– Fun for students!

• Don’t forget to score your students on their creativity and presentation format!

• Make sure the teacher has fun, too!• Like this WebQuest? Want more? E-mail

thatmathlady@gmail.com with your requests!