Let's start off with being honest. I do my share of internet surfing. Two sites I visit regularly for their awesome "kid" content are uberhumor.com and 9gag.com. You'll see their watermarks at the bottom of most of my photos.
This one stood out to me right away because I thought, "NO WAY!" (And I bet your students will think that too!) So, I thought, "Let's find out."
Grade Level: 3-8
Course: Math, Pre-Algebra
Standards: 6.EE.2, 6.EE.3, 6.EE.9, 6.G.2, 7.RP.1, 7.RP.2, 7.G.1, 7.G.6
SMP: MP1, MP2, MP3, MP4, MP5, MP7
Skills: Estimation, Volume, Unit conversion, Scientific Notation
How to use this as a mad minute:
Get out those smart phones, those electronic devices, iPods, laptops, iPads, etc. Is this true? Can you find an answer in 60 seconds or less? GO!
How to use this as a warm up:
You could ask the students to consider one of the following:
1. List the information would you need to gather to determine this is true.
2. Estimate how much saliva you produce in 1 hour. 1 day. 1 week. 1 year.
3. How big is a swimming pool? How much water do you think it holds?
4. Calculate the volume of a swimming pool that is 50m x 25m x 2m. (Olympic average.)
5. How much saliva do you think is in a single cubic meter of water?
6. If the volume of an Olympic Pool is 2,500,000 L, how much saliva does one person produce each day?
How to use this as a mini-lesson?
You have to decide how much freedom to give your students and how structured you want this to be. It could be a great inspiration for how to find the volume of a rectangular prism (true swimming pools that are more like trapezoidal prisms), or how to convert between metric and English measurements, or how to convert between large and small numbers, or even how to use scientific notation appropriately.
Mini Lesson 1: Volume
Let's find the volume of different pools! (Olympic, neighborhood, backyard pools)
Olympic: 50m x 25m x 2m (Note: Olympic pools are not rectangular prisms, but this is an average.)
Neighborhood: 25m x 10m x 1.5m (Kids could find out their own measurements!)
Backyard: Radius=2m, Depth= 1.5m (Cylinder volume!)
Mini Lesson 2: Unit Conversion
Saliva is measured in ounces. How much is 2,500,000 Liters in ounces? How do you convert? What proportions do you use?
Mini Lesson 3: Scientific Notation
An Olympic Swimming pool has a volume of about 2,500,000 Liters. Write this in scientific notation. If the average person creates 1 liter of saliva every day for 79 years, how much saliva will they create in a lifetime? Write your answer in scientific notation. Which number is larger?
Mini Lesson 4: Is this reasonable?
If you are trying to do this as a mini lesson, kids will need as MUCH information as possible. You will need to tell them how much an average pool holds. (Olympic=2.5 million liters) You'll need to tell them how much saliva a person produces each day. (Approximately 1 liter) How long does the average person live? (In the US it is approximately 79 years) Can you use this information to determine if the average person would fill a swimming pool with saliva?
How to use this as a full lesson?
Expand any of the mini lessons above to include practice problems, a homework worksheet, or a continued exploration. For example: How long would it take to fill a bathtub with saliva? How much saliva does the city of Denver create each day? Each year? Is the amount of saliva created each year by the population of China MORE or less than the amount of water in The Great Lakes?
How to use this as an assessment?
You know your students best! If I were doing this with a GOOD group of middle school students who had mastered volume, this is the assessment I'd give them.
Look at this meme! Is it true? Use your technology to research both saliva production and the size of swimming pools. Then use your knowledge of volume to answer whether or not this is reasonable. Justify your answers with clear mathematical knowledge and computation. Use the rubric to get full credit!
My rubric would require showing formulas for volume and how it was computed, how they got their numbers for the dimensions of the pool and the amount of saliva and the life span, including documenting sources. I'd want them to explain answers in complete sentences with correct mathematical vocabulary.
If your kids aren't ready for this freedom, structure it for them! (But, please, give them a chance and build the opportunities. They'll get there, I promise!)
Please feel free to use any of these ideas and modify them to meet your needs. However, please acknowledge the original source of the items and my own lesson outlines. ©NatalieRSprigg 2013
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