Vol. 13, No.

7, March 2008 MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL 423

mathematical explorations
s
Spreadsheet software is generally
available in schools and is in wide-
spread use in business. The use of
spreadsheets can help students make
mathematical connections with
problems in the world around them.
Many real-life quantitative problems
require algebra for decision making.
Examples include the impact of ris-
ing gas prices on family budgets; the
amount of gasoline left in the tank of
a car and the distance to the nearest
gas station; and the level of monthly
income versus money needed to pay
for food, rent, utilities, and clothing.
Although these issues do not require
complex mathematics, they do require
knowledge of basic algebra involving
variables and equations.
Spreadsheet software and Hurri-
cane Katrina motivated us to develop
activities to engage middle school
students in exploring real-world
mathematical problems. A slideshow
Maggie Niess, niessm@onid.oregonstate
.edu, Pejmon Sadri, sadrip@onid.orst
.edu, and Kwangho Lee, leekw@onid
.orst.edu, teach in the science and math-
ematics education department at Oregon
State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
Variables and
Spreadsheets Connect
with Real-World Problems
Edited by Denisse R. Thompson, Thompson@tempest.coedu.usf.edu, Mathematics Edu-
cation, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, and Gwen Johnson, gjohnson@
coedu.usf.edu, Secondary Education, University of South Florida. This department is de-
signed to provide activities appropriate for students in grades 59. The material may be
reproduced by classroom teachers for use in their classes. Readers who have developed
successful classroom activities are encouraged to submit manuscripts in a format similar
to this Mathematical Explorations. Of particular interest are activities focusing on the
Councils Content and Process Standards and Curriculum Focal Points. Send submissions
by accessing mtms.msubmit.net.
Margaret L. Niess, Pejmon
Sadri, and Kwangho Lee
presentation displaying numerous
pictures about Katrinas widespread
damage can set the stage for a demon-
stration of the impact of this event on
people, in particular, children. A gen-
eral statement of this problem frames
the upcoming activities for students.
Hurricane Katrina disrupted the
lives of many children. Many peo-
ple have donated toys. You are on a
design team to create a playhouse
that might be used by the children
so that they can have a safe place
to play with the toys. Investigate
various designs for a playhouse by
building a model.
ACTIVITY 1:
DESIGN A MODEL PLAYHOUSE
This activity introduces students to
the use of a spreadsheet to help deter-
mine the costs of producing two types
of playhouses. In comparing the
Copyright 2008 The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. www.nctm.org. All rights reserved.
This material may not be copied or distributed electronically or in any other format without written permission from NCTM.
424 MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL Vol. 13, No. 7, March 2008
different designs, students investigate
the costs of the different features and
their impact on the total costs using a
preformatted spreadsheet (see the
Teacher Preparation section for
producing this spreadsheet). As
students enter data, the spreadsheet
calculates the total cost based on the
unit costs for various features. Can
students assume that the calculations
are correct? How can the spreadsheet
be tested? To explore these questions,
students are likely to use quantities of
10 or 1 for each item to compare the
spreadsheet subtotals with their
mental estimates of the costs.
The next challenge for students is
to explore the formula-based instruc-
tions embedded in the spreadsheet
to compute values. When they click
on cell D6, for example, the status
bar displays =B6*C6. They quickly
realize that this formula is an instruc-
tion for the spreadsheet to compute
the value that is visible in that cell of
the spreadsheet. Teachers can help
students understand the formula in
cell D6 by directing their attention to
the column and row markers in the
spreadsheet. Students might explain,
Make D6 equal to the product of
the value in B6 and the value in C6.
They also need to explain =SUM(D6:
D11) as the formula that sets the
value displayed in D12 to be the sum
of the values in D6 through D11.
Teachers can conclude this activity
by asking students to consider the dif-
ferent playhouse designs that are cre-
ated. Which model playhouse would
cost the most to produce? These
explorations and discussions guide the
students to connect the mathematical
formulas with the spreadsheet opera-
tions for the creation of a dynamic
spreadsheet.
ACTIVITY 2: INVESTIGATE
TWO PLAYHOUSE DESIGNS
Students are ready to engage in a cost
analysis of more realistic and compli-
cated playhouse designs. The students
will be considering two designs, the
Cape Cod and the Victorian, found
through a Web search. They can
identify the features that are the most
expensive (such as the adult Dutch
door, the child Dutch door, and the
ower boxes) and focus their atten-
tion on the impact of the costs for the
various features.
Students can work in pairs at
computer workstations to design a
spreadsheet as described in activ-
ity sheet 2. For this spreadsheet to
be useful, students need to enter the
quantities and the formulas for the
subtotal costs and the total costs for
each model. Teachers should check
that students enter the cell names
(like B5) in the formula rather than
specic numerical values to calculate
the subtotal cost of the siding for the
Cape Cod model. The formula for cell
D5 should be =B5*C5. (Students also
need to be reminded to start with an
equal sign when entering a formula
in a cell.) Entering numerical values
does not support the development
of a spreadsheet that allows students
to explore the problem by entering
different quantities and costs. The
development of a spreadsheet shifts
students thinking toward abstract
representations for calculating the
cost of each feature. Cells B5 and C5
can be described as the cells with the
independent variables and D5 as the
cell with the dependent variable in
this problem. After completing this
spreadsheet, students will nd the
Cape Cod model costs $2,503.00 and
the Victorian model costs $5,596.00.
Connections of specic cells in the
spreadsheet with variables and covari-
ates among the variables are key to
students recognition of the important
characteristics of creating spread-
sheets. In the remainder of the activity,
students will develop a proposal that
reduces the cost of each model. Stu-
dents need to consider how changes in
the quantities for the items discussed
in question 3 affect the changes in the
models. What happens to its physi-
cal appearance? Of what value are the
ower boxes? Multiple possibilities
exist to meet the reduced costs for
each model. In this way, the problem is
extended beyond its original question
of simply identifying the cost for each
model to an open-ended question
where students analyze change in var-
ious contexts (NCTM 2000, p. 222).
The closing discussion highlights the
concepts of dependent versus indepen-
dent variables and covariates as well as
ideas of the efciency and usefulness
of spreadsheets to explore changes
and extend problems. Ask students
directed questions such as these: What
is the difference between dependent
and independent variables? What does
covariation mean when thinking about
these different types of variables? How
are spreadsheets designed to be useful
in exploring the effect of indepen-
dent variables to extend problems?
Why is it important to use cell names
rather than their values in spreadsheet
formulas?
Vol. 13, No. 7, March 2008 MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL 425
ACTIVITY 3:
PROPOSAL FOR CONSTRUCTION
Students need experience working
with and designing spreadsheets if they
are to understand that this software is
a useful mathematical tool. Activity
sheet 3 extends the Katrina problem
as students develop a proposal to meet
a donors specications, rst discussed
on activity sheet 2. The mathematics
goal for this activity extends students
experiences in constructing and using
mathematics models to represent and
understand quantitative relationships
(NCTM 2000, p. 222). Students will
use activity sheet 3 to extend a partially
prepared spreadsheet model to design
a proposal for the donor. (Follow the
directions in the Teacher Preparation
section, Proposal for Construction
Spreadsheet.) Students enter appropri-
ate formulas to nd the total number
of playhouses (H6H10) and the total
costs for each of the ideas (I6I10).
Then they explore various quantities for
the Cape Cod and Victorian models
to test the reliability and dependability
of the formulas they entered, testing
values that result in either OK or
Cant do. In the process, they are able
to explore covariates among these vari-
ables as well as identify some quantities
that they might eventually choose for
their proposals.
Although students might use a
guess-and-check strategy to deter-
mine the quantities that will work,
guide them in using algebraic equa-
tions to identify their beginning val-
ues. For the case of building 1/2 the
number of Cape Cod playhouses as
Victorian playhouses, the equation for
the cost of the different types is this:
2290(C) + 4400(1/2)(C) = 500000
The solution to this equation indicates
that the number for Cape Cod (C)
playhouses is approximately 111 and
the Victorian (1/2)C playhouses is 55.
But with these two quantities, there is
money remaining. Could another house
be built and still meet the donors chal-
lenge? With 56 for the Victorian, the
model results in Cant do because the
cost overran the $500,000.00 amount
available. Increasing the quantity for
Cape Cod to 112 (with 55 Victorians)
results in OK, whereas the entry of
113 results in Cant do. The Allow-
able? helps students be efcient in
their decision-making processes.
After completing the proposals,
students are asked to highlight the row
that they feel best meets the donors
challenge. Using the values shown in
gure 1, most of the money is used
when the number of Victorian houses
is 1/4 the number of Cape Cod houses.
This proposal serves nine fewer child-
ren, but the donor specically requested
that the selected option use the maxi-
mum amount of the donated money.
Teachers can create different
challenges for new proposals. For
instance, teachers can ask students to
create a proposal that builds between
140 and 150 Cape Cod houses, the
most Victorian playhouses possible
with the remaining dollars, and
maximizes the amount needed from
the $500,000.00. Although the nature
of the questions in this activity
changes to involve more of a decision-
making element, the basic mathemati-
cal elements remain intactexploring
the covariation of variables. Again, in
closing be sure to ask students
questions such as these: If you were
unable to design spreadsheets, what
would you need to do to create a
proposal for the donor in the Katrina
problem? What is the value of using a
dynamic spreadsheet in modeling the
Katrina problem? What mathematics
did you learn in working on the
Katrina problem? What did you learn
about designing spreadsheets as you
worked on the Katrina problem?
IN CONCLUSION
Principles and Standards for School
Mathematics (NCTM 2000) advocates
teaching important mathematics to
all students using appropriate tools.
NCTMs vision specically identies
technology as an essential component
of the [classroom] environment
(p. 3). Principles and Standards further
highlights the importance of algebra
for all students, specically indicating
that students should be able to use
mathematical models to represent
and understand quantitative relation-
ships (p. 222). Appropriate comput-
er technologies support this emphasis
in that they can be used to perform
operations on symbols and instanta-
neously do calculations on columns
of data while supporting students in
learning how to interpret technologi-
cal representations and how to use the
technology effectively and wisely
(p. 37). Spreadsheet capabilities pro-
vide a dynamic and powerful tool for
addressing these objectives.
Although students can simply use
spreadsheets designed by others, they
learn much more about the math-
ematics embedded when they learn to
design and create their own to explore
mathematical problems. They have
extended experiences with variables
Fig. 1 Sample spreadsheet for the Proposal for Construction activity
426 MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL Vol. 13, No. 7, March 2008
el? Their efforts in learning to create
spreadsheets need to be carefully
integrated with ways that also support
them in learning mathematics. Teach-
ers need to look for and plan ways to
scaffold this learning. They need to
look for problems that focus students
and modeling of quantitative relation-
ships that are important in middle-
grades mathematics education. They
learn to construct the tools as a way
of extending the problems with such
questions as What if I needed to
reduce the cost of the playhouse mod-
on decision making and problem solv-
ing and that benet from explorations
of What if . . .? questions. Once
teachers consider challenging students
to extend the problems, the capabili-
ties of the spreadsheet reveal it as an
amazing tool for teaching and learn-
ing mathematics in the middle grades.
TEACHER PREPARATION
Design a Model Playhouse
Frames for playhouses: See gure 2 for
four potential designs. The model
design is shown as an outline on the
bases that have been created with
9 in. 9 in. foam board. At each
vertex point, insert a dowel (1/4 inch
diameter and 4 inches long). The
walls of the designs are created with
colored construction paper afxed to
the dowels with two-sided tape.
Roof structures: The roof is made
using the same colored construction
paper as the walls. Various designs for
the roof can be congured, as shown
in gure 3. The base is 7 in. 7 in.,
and the roof pitch can be varied and
stabilized by placing 1-inch lengths of
the dowels glued to the base along the
outside edges. See gure 4. Use two-
sided tape to afx the roof structure to
the base.
Additional features: Prepare various
door and window designs for personal-
izing the models. Provide students with
permanent markers of various colors for
decorating the windows and doors and
two-sided tape and scissors to reshape
the windows and doors as desired.
Proposal for Construction Spreadsheet
1. For this activity, prepare a partial
spreadsheet for the students to use.
Leave B6B10, E6E10, H6
H10, and I6I10 blank.
Format I6I10 in dollars and
cents so that when students enter
values, the appropriate currency
formats appear.
9"
9"
9"
9"
Foam board
Invisible
tape
1/4" wooden dowel,
4 inches long
Colored
construction paper
9"
9"
9"
9"
7"
7"
Fig. 2 Four designs for model playhouses
Fig. 3 Model playhouse designs
P
H
O
T
O
G
R
A
P
H

B
Y

M
A
R
G
A
R
E
T

N
I
E
S
S
;

A
L
L

R
I
G
H
T
S

R
E
S
E
R
V
E
D
Vol. 13, No. 7, March 2008 MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL 427
Fig. 4 Construction of the roofs for the models
9"
9"
9"
9"
Foam board
Invisible
tape
1/4" wooden dowel,
4 inches long
Colored
construction paper
9"
9"
9"
9"
7"
7"
One of the two pieces of the roof is made
from the same colored construction paper
as the walls and connected as shown,
using two-sided tape. This will allow the
pitch of the roof to be adjusted to any
angle. The width and length of each piece
of paper is to be determined according to
the size of the roof base and the congura-
tion of each plan.
The base of the roof is made from the
same colored construction paper as the
walls and will need to be cut and adjusted,
according to each plan conguration.
The roof stabilizer is made of the same
material as the columns and is to be glued
on the base of the roof. The position will
be determined at the time of roof construc-
tion. The roof will fold at the center and be
glued onto the base while these stabilizers
keep it in place along its outside edges.
Enter the formulas for J6J10 as
shown in gure 1.
2. Figure 1 provides a possible
proposal for the quantities and the
formulas that students enter.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Association of Mathematics Teacher
Educators. Preparing Teachers to Use
Technology to Enhance the Learning
of Mathematics. www.amte.net. 2006.
National Council of Teachers of Math-
ematics (NCTM). Principles and Stan-
dards for School Mathematics. Reston,
VA: NCTM, 2000.
This work was partially supported by the
National Science Foundation under grant
IRT-0324273 and by the EUSES Con-
sortium (eecs.oregonstate.edu/EUSES/).
Copies of the spreadsheets used in this
project can be obtained by sending an
e-mail to niessm@onid.oregonstate.edu.
from the March 2008 issue of
Name ______________________________
Design a Model Playhouse
Playhouses come in many different designs with many different features. Design your own playhouse
model adding the parts to a basic frame (with columns and walls for the playhouse already in place).
Add the roof and as many doors and windows as you like. Use colored permanent markers or crayons,
scissors, and double-sided tape to accessorize your design.
1. Find the cost of your model. Each feature has a dif-
ferent unit price so that the total cost of your model
depends on the number of these features you include
in your model. The spreadsheet calculates the total
cost of your model as you enter the various quanti-
ties. Count the number of columns that frame your
model; enter that number into B6. Count the other
features, entering the numbers into the spreadsheet.
What is the total cost of your model?
2. How condent are you that the spreadsheet correctly
calculated the cost of your model? Test its correctness by entering other values. What quantities
make your test easy? Explain why these values demonstrate the correctness of the spreadsheet.
3. Record the formula used in each cell, and explain how the spreadsheet makes the calculation.
Cell Formula in This Cell Explain the Formula Instructions
D6
D7
D8
D9
D10
D11
D12
4. Compare the costs of the different models created in class.
(a) Which model playhouse costs the most to make? The least?
(b) Did the size or the features inuence the cost the most?
activity sheet 1
from the March 2008 issue of
Name ______________________________
activity sheet 2
Investigate Two Playhouse Designs
The review committee has selected two models for the playhouses. Which model is the most expensive?
Quantity Item Quantity
72 Siding 140
2 Windows (large) 17
4 Shutters 0
2 Flower boxes 8
2 Windows (small) 0
1 Child Dutch door (40 in. 20 in.) 1
1 Adult Dutch door (61 in. 34 in.) 1
1 Screws, latches, handles, nails 1
43 Trimming (metallic) 92
43 Trimming (plastic) 92
0 Trimming (wooden) 92
36 Flooring 81
82 Shingles 145
2 Paint 4
16 Labor 32
1. What are the features of each of these models? How are they similar and how are they different?
Which features are the most expensive? Which model is your favorite? Why?
from the March 2008 issue of
Name ______________________________
2. What do the models cost to build? Create a spreadsheet to answer this question.
(a) Enter the quantities for each feature of each model in this spreadsheet.
(b) Enter the appropriate formulas in columns D and H to instruct the spreadsheet to calculate the
Subtotals and Totals for the Cape Cod and the Victorian models. Keep in mind that the for-
mulas need to reference the cell names, not the values in the cell. The formula for cell D5, for
example, should be =B5*C5.
With this formula even if the quantities and unit costs are changed, the formula will change
dynamically to calculate a new subtotal. Another way to think about these cells is to recognize
them as variables in the problem.
B5 and C5 are independent variables; D5 is the dependent variable.
3. A donor has been found to support the costs of development of the actual playhouses. The maxi-
mum total costs approved, however, are these:
Cape Cod Model: $2,290.00
Victorian Model: $4,400.00
Your task is to reduce the costs by making changes in the nonstructural items: windows (large);
shutters; ower boxes; windows (small); trimming (metallic); trimming (plastic); and trimming
(wooden). Prepare a proposal for each model that uses all the approved amounts for each. Describe
in your proposal how these changes affect the physical appearance for each model.
activity sheet 2 (continued)
from the March 2008 issue of
Name ______________________________
Proposal for Construction
The donor is pleased with your work in preparing proposals. She is now willing to donate $500,000.00
for building playhouses for the children affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Victorian model is her fa-
vorite, but she recognizes that this model costs almost twice that of the Cape Cod model. She is more
interested in providing playhouses for as many children as she can. She has asked that you prepare
some proposals for her consideration. She would like to see displays of the number of houses that can
be built and the cost of building those houses if the number of Victorian houses is approximately 1/2,
1/3, 1/4, 1/5, or 1/6 the number of Cape Cod houses.
1. Work with this partially prepared spreadsheet and enter the unit costs for the formulas to calculate
the Number of Houses and the Total Cost. Complete these formulas for rows 6 through 10.
(a) The formula for cell H6 must instruct the computer to add the value in B6 to the value in E6.
(b) The value in I6 must add the cost of the Cape Cod houses (found by multiplying B6 by C6)
with the cost of the Victorian houses (found by multiplying E6 by F6).
2. Explore entering quantities for a proposal for the donors option that the number of Victorian
houses be about 1/2 the number of Cape Cod houses.
(a) Enter 200 in B6 (for the quantity of Cape Cod) and 100 in E6 (for the Victorian). The value in
H6 becomes 300, the value in I6 becomes $898,000.00, and cell J6 changes to Cant do. The
Allowable? column ( J) indicates that this proposal cant work. Why doesnt the proposal meet
the donors conditions?
(b) Find quantities where the number of Victorian houses represent about 1/2 of the Cape Cod
houses that result in an OK in J6.
3. Prepare your spreadsheet proposal for the donor. Highlight the best option that uses most of the
donated money. Attach a copy of your proposal to this worksheet.
4. Use the model to write a new proposal for the donor. Build between 140 and 150 Cape Cod houses
and build the most Victorian houses possible with the remaining dollars without exceeding the
maximum donation.
activity sheet 3