Problem Overview

Problem

Problem Title: Fruit Pallets Course: Algebra 1 Author(s): Matthew Sears, Hillside New Tech High School Durham, NC

Matts Marvelous Mouthfuls is a food distribution company that buys fruit from three local farmers and delivers it to your grocery store. Each farmer boxes their fruit according the table below: Annas Apple Farm Pauls Peach Farm Carolinas Cherry Farm Anna boxes her apples Paul boxes his peaches such Carolina boxes her cherries such such that they contain 3 that they contain 45 peaches: that they contain 3 rows of 20 rows of 2 apples, and 2 3 peaches in a row and 3 cherries and 4 cherries stacked apples stacked on top of peaches stacked on top of on top of each other. each other. each other. Matt needs the farmers to pack their boxes of fruits into pallets so that he can easily load the pallets into his truck. Design a pallet for each farmer. Explain to Matt how much floor space he must have in his truck to accommodate two pallets from each farmer on his pickup route. Explain to Matt how much volume he must have in his truck to accommodate those two pallets from each farmer. Justify your explanation by showing Matt how you added up the boxes. Standards/Big Ideas Addressed Number Properties and Operations Students understand number properties and operations a) Performing operations on and properties of positive and negative integers b) Simplify and compare algebraic expressions; write equivalent forms of expressions c) Use law of exponents d) Use unit analysis to organize conversions and computations (could be done by extending this problem) Likely units/big ideas that came before this Likely units/big ideas that come after this problem problem Solving non-linear equations of one variable Linear functions and solving for one variable in terms of another Assumptions about Student Prior Knowledge Students should already know: Order of Operations Variable representation (using a to stand for apple) How to find the area of rectangles

Phase Roll out (k/ntk/next steps)

Facilitation Notes Anticipated Student Notes/tips including time Action for phase
Students will likely identify these KNOWs: 3 Farmers, 3 kinds of Fruit Need to design pallet Need to calculate floor space Need to calculate volume We will put 2 pallets of each fruit on Matts truck Likely NTKs: What is a pallet? How many fruit are in each box? How big are the fruits in real life? How big is Matts truck? How are we measuring (feet, inches, cm)? How do we find volume? How do we find floor space? Likely Next Steps: Look up what a pallet is Calculate number of fruits in a box Look up what volume is and how it is found Some students will begin to draw pictures of the boxes and label with numbers Others may incorporate variables into their drawings. Some will jump straight to 2dimensional drawings of the boxes and begin to arrange them into pallets Likely online searches: pallet Total Roll-out time: 10 minutes

Assessment

Student work time #1

Time for Student Work: 10 minutes Recommend calling this sketching time and allowing each student to construct images on their own sheets of paper with the understanding that the final product will be on one large poser/sheet of paper. Students experiences with real world quantities may make it difficult for them to take the

Informal/formative assessment of drawings made by individuals and of labels of drawings.

volume of box truck sizes

leap of writing quantities in terms of unknown lengths. Expect a struggle here that teacher can address during share out. Moving from 2D to 3D drawings may trip up some groups. Suggest having actual boxes present in the room and/or drawings of boxes on the board. 3-5 Minutes per Students (1520 minutes total) Likely best to select 5 students as you rotated the room during st 1 Work Time that demonstrate different ways of modeling the situation. Possible student work: 2D (from above no labels, then with labels), 3D with images of fruits no labels, 3D with labels no images, and 3D with images and labels. Questioning of group after each of 5 students (critical friends style: likes, wonders?) may push students towards drawings that incorporate labels and shapes. 5-10 minutes depending on student questions Holding a class-wide workshop that helps students model lengths using variables (aapple, c-cherry, p-peach) by demonstrating a simple example: A box that hold one Honeydew Melon. Teacher can show that while we do not necessarily know the dimensions of the semispherical melon. m x m = m^2 footprint and m x m x m = m^3 volume. RECOMMENDATION: substituting examples that are

Sharing out

At least 5 individuals share their work. Likely that few will have incorporated algebraic expressions. Students should be able to explain what labels they have added and how their drawings model the scenario.

As mentioned, quick Critical Friends Protocol (CFG) feedback (Likes, I wonders) might benefit group and allow students a chance to work on Oral Communication and Collaboration Skills.

Students not presenting should be listening, and can be invited to provide questions and comments to those that are presenting

Direct instruction * (this can occur at different times, as long as students work on the problem first)

Students answer teachers guiding questions during discussion of teacher example on the board.

Gauge Work Ethic and Communication Skills as students participate in the workshop

not spherical may lead to confusion. Say you were packing a watermelon. Is the box 1w wide and if so is it 2w long??? Using spherical examples may simplify the problem. Revisiting the Need to Knows: try to tease out how the bottom of the boxes/pallets might relate to floor space. Demonstrating how to make a pallet of melons might be excessive or needed depending on class needs. 20-30 minutes Suggestion: guidance at the beginning of each stage for students may be required: 1. Modeling footprint of one box 2. Modeling volume of one box 3. Planning a pallet with a square bottom. Options to achieve this? Teacher rotates spending just a few seconds of guidance at each group. Teachers uses excelling students: that looks good, please go show that to each group very quickly

Student work time #2

Student work one scrap paper through first 2/3 of time to create drawings with measurements of the boxes and then pallets of boxes. Final 1/3 of time is spent demonstrating their work on poster-sized paper to display to the class.

Final Action on Problem

3 Groups present their pallets (1 farmer/fruit for each group) Groups given another poster-sized paper to rework/finalize their results for display.

50 minutes: 10 minutes for each group, then 30 minutes to re-work solutions Class together uses the three different examples to answer the questions for Matts Truck (floor space and volume) given the responses from three groups. Groups then use the example of the class activity to check their calculations for their three pallets. May carry over to next class

Work Ethic, Collaboration can be evaluated based on class participation. Written Communication and Content Knowledge evaluation of final poster-sized display of their work. Work Ethic/Content Knowledge on follow up assignments (any related homework)

period or could be assigned as homework for next class period.

Extension

Practice Problems

Follow Up Some ideas: 1. Multiplying Polynomials (FOIL, etc.): Matt wants to get into the export business. He plans to deliver some of the fruits he picks up to his warehouse where he will create his own pallet that has all three kinds of fruits. Although we dont know how the fruits lengths relate to each other, discuss the algebraic implications of the footprint of such a pallet. Say the pallet was (12a + 10p + 40c) by (8a + 6p + 6c), etc. 2. Measurement and Measures of Central Tendency (Mean, Median, Mode, Range, etc.). If these are in your standards you could do this before or after the pallets problem: Bring in actual apples, peaches, and cherries. Have students conduct measurements on the fruits and discuss what measures of central tendency may be relevant for calculating what sized boxes should be made by the farmers of the pallets problem. Students could write a suggestion memo to the farmers explaining their results. If this is done after the pallets problem. Have them evaluate their work in the pallets problem by substituting in class agreed-upon measurements of the fruits. 3. Systems of Equations/Substitution: Somewhat related to Extension #1 & #2: Either with real fruits or with data provided by teacher, students generate or are given conversion factors from fruit to fruit. Example: 10 cherries seems to measure as long as 3 apples, leads to 10c = 3a or c = 3a/10 or a = 10c/3. Once this is established, creating an actual jigsaw pallet as discussed in Extension #1 is possible. 1. A rectangular classroom is 3 times as wide as it is long. Represent the floor area of the classroom in terms of length (l) and then in terms of width (w). 2. Simplify the following expressions: a) 5x + 6x 10x b) -4m + 2n + 12m 7n c) (5a 2b + c) + (2c 4a + 2b)

3. Martin wants to put a fish tank in his office. The tanks length is three times the width. And the tank is as tall as it is wide. Using the variable x to represent the height of the tank, tell Martin how much desk space he will need in terms of x. Also determine how much water will be required to fill the tank in terms of x. 4. Standardized Test Question (from 2009 NC Algebra 1 End-Of-Course Exam):

Solution to Problem

Annas Apple Farm: 2a Area of Bottom of Box = 2a * 3a = 6a^2

2a 2a 3a Volume of Box = 2a * 2a * 3a = 12a^3

3a

Representations of area of the pallet (students may produce other pallets that meet the requirements): This pallet has a length across the top and bottom of: 3a + 3a + 3a + 3a = 12a This pallet has a width across the left and right sides of: 2a + 2a + 2a + 2a + 2a + 2a = 12a Thus, the footprint of this pallet will be: (3a + 3a + 3a + 3a) * (2a + 2a + 2a + 2a + 2a + 2a) 12a * 12a 144a^2 or note that there are 24 boxes of apples per level with a base area of 6a^2 per box thus 24 * 6a^2 = 144a^2

= =

Representations of the volume of a pallet: In the given pallet, any multiple of 2a could serve as a correct height of the pallet as a box of apples has a height of 2a. Lets assume a group chose to have 5 boxes stacked on top of each other:

Volume of this pallet will be: (2a + 2a + 2a + 2a + 2a) * 12a * 12a 10a * 12a * 12a 1440a^3 2a 2a 2a 2a 2a 12a 12a

= =

10a

Samples for Peaches and Cherries Peaches Area of Bottom of Box 3p 20c 5p A = 20c * 3c = 60c^2 A = 5p * 3p = 15p^2 Volume of Box 3p Cherries

3c

3p

4c

3c 5p 20c V = 5p * 3p * 3p = 45p^3 V = 20c * 3c * 4c = 240c^3 1 Possible Pallet 27p 40c

30p 30p Length = 6 boxes of 5p = 30p Width = 10 boxes of 3p = 30p Area of base = (5p+5p+5p+5p+5p) * (3p+3p+3p+3p+3p+3p+3p+3p+3p+3p) = 30p * 30p = 900p^2 or base of pallet contains 60 boxes that each have 15p^2 base so, 60 * 15p^2 = 900p^2 Volume = 30p * 30p * 27p (assumes 9 boxes high) = 24,300p^3 120c

120c

Length = 6 boxes of 20c = 120c Width = 40 boxes of 3c = 120c Area of base = (20c+20c+20c+20c+20c+20c) * (3c++3c) = 120c * 120c = 14,400c^2 or base of pallet contains 240 boxes that each have 60c^2 base so, 240 * 60c^2 = 14,400c^2 Volume = 120c * 120c * 40c (assumes 10 boxes high) = 576,000c^3

Remembering that the original problem was to help Matt determine the floor space required to pickup TWO pallets at each farm. Assuming the calculations above:

Annas Apple Farm Base area of each pallet Volume of Each Pallet 144a^2

Pauls Peach Farm 900p^2

Carolinas Cherry Farm 14,400c^2

1,440a^3

24,300p^3

576,000c^3

Total For 1 Pallet of Each Fruit 144a^2 + 900p^2 + 14,400c^2 1,400a^3 + 24,300p^3 + 576,000c^3

Total for 2 Pallets of Each Fruit 288a^2 + 1,800p^2 + 28,800c^2 2,800a^3 + 48,600p^3 + 1,144,000c^3

Final Writeup (example): Our calculations have determined that Matts Marvelous Mouthfuls must have a delivery truck that has floor space of (288a^2 + 1,800p^2 + 28,800c^2) to accommodate two pallets from each farm. Additionally, the truck must have a minimum volume of (2,800a^3 + 48,600p^3 + 1,144,000c^3) to accommodate the pallets we have designed.