Keeping the Meaning in Mathematics: The Craft of Word Problems

Appendix A

Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone

1. King Arthur is considering renting an apartment for his son Radius that has 325 square feet of space. The rent is $1,300 per month. A larger apartment in the same building is available for $2,100 per month at the same rate per square foot as the smaller apartment. What is the area of the larger apartment?

F 525 ft²

G 1,625 ft²

H 3,400 ft²

J 840 ft²

2. Lady Di of Ameter is constructing a 28-by-40-foot area for a concrete slab for an outdoor patio. If the concrete company charges $120.00 per cubic yard of concrete, what other information is needed in order to find c, the cost of the concrete slab?

F The area of the slab

G The thickness of the slab

H The perimeter of the slab

J The price per cubic foot of concrete

3. Radius' room, a rectangle STUV is similar to Vertex's room, a rectangle LMNO. The measurement of TU is 12 and the measurement of MN is 6. If the area of rectangle STUV is 72 square units, what is the area of rectangle LMNO?

F 36 units²

G 24 units²

H 18 units²

J 12 units²

4. Vertex shipped a birthday gift to his grandmother in a cubical box. Each side of the box measured 2.5 feet. Which is closest to the surface area of the box?

A 10 square feet

B 20 square feet

C 30 square feet

D 40 square feet

5. Vertex drew a circle with a radius of 20 inches and another circle with a radius of 10 inches. What is the approximate difference between the areas of the 2 circles?

F 300 in.²

G 600 in.²

H 900 in.²

J 1,200 in.²

6. Sir Cumference is building a toy chest. The height is 2 feet, the length is 5 feet and the width is 4 feet. What is the volume of the toy box in cubic feet?

7. King Arthur draws the following 4 figures. Figure I, a rectangle, has width 6 cm and length 10cm. Figure II, a triangle, has base 10 cm and height 12.5 cm. Figure III, a trapezoid, has height 10 cm, short width 5 cm, and long width 7 cm. Figure IV, a circle, has a diameter of 10 cm. Which 2 figures have the same area?

A Figure I and Figure II

B Figure I and Figure III

C Figure II and Figure III

D Figure II and Figure IV

8. Vertex is making props to help solve the puzzle. He needs to make a large circular wooden figure that measures about 6 feet in circumference. Which equation can he use to find r, the radius of the figure?

A r = 6/?

B r = 12/?

C r = 6/2?

D r = 12/2?

9. King Arthur has drawn a rectangle as a clue to the puzzle. The length of the rectangle is four times its width and the perimeter of the rectangle is 80 inches. Find the measures of its length and width.

10. Another clue has emerged for Radius to solve. The base of a triangle is 6 inches larger than its height. If the area of the triangle is 8 square inches, find the base and height of the triangle.

Appendix A Answer Key

1. F

2. G

3. H

4. D

5. H

6. 40 ft3

7. B

8. C

9. length = 32 in., width = 8 in.

10. base = 8 in., height = 2 in.