summer road trip project answer key

Pre-Algebra Road Trip Project

By: Author Sarah Carter

Posted on Published: July 22, 2012  - Last updated: December 3, 2022

Categories Projects , Ratios/Proportions

Well, since I’m preparing to start my first year of teaching, I decided that I really needed to finish posting the last few projects I did during my student teaching. 

During my last week of student teaching , my cooperating teacher asked me to come up with a creative way to review some of the 8th grade math standards. 

A lot of my students had been struggling with the concept of proportions.  With lots of practice, they had been improving, but many students still weren’t comfortable with solving proportions. 

I wanted to show students that proportions were definitely applicable to their lives.  So, I created this pre-algebra road trip project.  It actually turned into a 3-part project because the students were enjoying it so much. 

Each student chose 5 cities to travel to on their road trip.  Using a ruler, they drew out their route on a US map.  Then, using the map scale, students determined the length of their road trip in miles.

Day 2 of the road trip project was spent using gas mileage and fuel costs for various vehicles to determine which vehicle students would take on their road trip.  

On Day 3, we calculated food costs, hotel costs, and rental car costs.  By the end of the 3-day project, students were much, much, much more comfortable working with ratios and proportions. 

It was an amazing experience to see the light bulbs go off with so many of my students.

Looking back at Day 2 and 3, there are a ton of little things I would change.  I actually changed the rental car problem on Day 3 because my students were having a ton of trouble with it.  I just did a flat rate per day.

This pre-algebra road trip project is easily adjusted based on your time limitations and the level of your students.  This was never intended on being a 3-day project.  It just sort of evolved into one. 

My 8th graders really enjoyed it.  My cooperating teacher enjoyed it.  My University Supervisor even observed me on Day 3 of the project. 

The lesson was a little more chaotic than I had planned, but my supervisor complimented me on the project.  He even asked for electronic copies of the files to send to some math teachers in China.   

Edited to Add : I have also done this with my Algebra 1 students.

Since I had already done this project with 8th graders, I thought my Algebra 1 students would be able to whiz right through it.  I was wrong.  I had to teach many of my students how to read a ruler. 

Rounding to the nearest quarter inch was a disaster.  And, the questions students asked me made me feel more like a geography teacher than a math teacher. 

These are actual conversations I had with my Algebra 1 students during this activity.

Me: Class, today we are going on a road trip.  If we’re going on a road trip, that means we will be traveling on… Class: Roads! Me: Yes, so that means we can’t travel to… Class: Hawaii Student 1: Why can’t you drive to Hawaii?  Me: Hawaii is an island.  That means it is surrounded by water. Student 2: Why does Hawaii look so weird? Custodian who just happens to be emptying the trash at this point: Hawaii is a series of small islands. Student 3: Do you mean you can’t drive between the little islands? Custodian: No.  When I was in Hawaii, we traveled between the islands by taking ferries. 

Student 1: Is Washington, D.C. here? [The student is pointing at Washington state.] Me: No. Student 2: No, Washington, D.C. is in Virginia.

Student 1: I think this map is wrong. Me: Why? Student 1: Oklahoma City should be above Tulsa.

Student 1: Do you mean Nashville, Tennessee is in the United States? Me: Yes.  Nashville is in the U.S. Student 1: I’ve heard of it before, but I didn’t realize it was in the U.S.

I required my students to write both the city and the state they were visiting on their assignment.  One student wrote that she was traveling to New Jersey, PA. 

Free Download of Pre-Algebra Road Trip Project

Road Trip Project Day 1 (WORD) (4465 downloads )

Road Trip Project Day 2 (WORD) (3329 downloads )

Road Trip Project Day 3 (WORD) (2894 downloads )

Road Trip Project Map and Rubric (PDF) (3152 downloads )

Video with Instructions on Completing the Road Trip Project

I ran across a YouTube video that someone created to walk students through completing the Road Trip Project. I thought I would link it here in case it was of use to anybody.

More Activities for Teaching Ratios and Proportions

Wednesday 4th of September 2019

Any chance you have the CC standards that are associated with this project?

Monday 27th of May 2019

Great project!

Friday 25th of January 2019

FOR STEP FOUR OF DAY ONE DID YOU HAVE THE STUDENTS USE THE UNIT CONVERSION OF MILES TO INCHES AND THEN SET THAT EQUAL TO THEIR DISTANCE?

Tuesday 30th of October 2018

i think she used a lot of creativity to make this project.

Monday 20th of February 2017

what is the cost/gallon of the fuel? Where do you get it from?

Thursday 18th of May 2017

I'm was the one that needed help that says anonymous

And my email is eliasdaniel4599[at]gmail.com, thank you

Hello their Sarah I'm having trouble with this project if you could plzz send me the answers like all of it plzzz:( this is due Friday my grade is at a D right now just plzz I'm sorry for bugging like asap lol thank you

Sarah Carter (@mathequalslove)

Friday 3rd of March 2017

I got the fuel data for 25 miles from https://www.fueleconomy.gov/

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7 Grade Math Summer-Road Trip Project

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Summer Road Trip Math Answer Key: Your Ultimate Guide

Introduction: what is the summer road trip math answer key.

Summer is just around the corner, and it’s time to start planning those road trips! For many families, the thought of being cooped up in a car for hours on end can be daunting, but fear not: the Summer Road Trip Math Answer Key is here to help. This guide is designed to provide families with a fun and engaging way to incorporate math into their road trip activities. From counting license plates to calculating gas mileage, there are countless opportunities to explore math concepts while on the road.

How to Use the Answer Key to Enhance Your Road Trip Experience

The Summer Road Trip Math Answer Key is a comprehensive guide that provides families with a variety of math activities to do while on the road. The key is organized by grade level and includes activities for elementary, middle, and high school students. Each section is broken down into different math concepts, such as geometry, algebra, and probability. The activities are designed to be fun, interactive, and educational, so kids won’t even realize they’re learning!

To use the answer key, simply choose the grade level that corresponds to your child’s math level and pick an activity that sounds interesting. The activities can be done on a variety of road trips, whether you’re driving across the country or just taking a day trip to a nearby city. It’s important to remember that the goal of the answer key is not to turn your road trip into a math class, but rather to enhance your overall experience by providing a fun way to explore math concepts.

Exploring Math Concepts Through Road Trip Activities and Scenarios

The Summer Road Trip Math Answer Key includes a variety of activities and scenarios that explore different math concepts. For example, one activity for elementary school students involves counting the number of red cars they see while on the road. This activity helps students practice their counting skills while also introducing the concept of probability. Another activity for middle school students involves calculating the distance between two cities using a map and a ruler. This activity helps students practice their measurement skills while also introducing the concept of scale.

In addition to these activities, the answer key also includes scenarios that are designed to spark discussion and critical thinking. For example, one scenario asks high school students to calculate the cost of gas for a cross-country road trip based on the make and model of their car, the price of gas, and the distance they will be traveling. This scenario helps students practice their algebra skills while also introducing the concept of budgeting.

Answer Key for Elementary, Middle, and High School Math Levels

The Summer Road Trip Math Answer Key is organized by grade level, making it easy for parents and educators to find activities that are appropriate for their child’s math level. The elementary school section includes activities that focus on basic math concepts such as counting, addition, and subtraction. The middle school section includes activities that focus on more advanced math concepts such as geometry, algebra, and probability. The high school section includes activities that focus on even more advanced math concepts such as calculus and statistics.

Regardless of your child’s math level, there are activities in the answer key that will challenge and engage them. Each activity is designed to be fun and interactive, so kids won’t even realize they are learning!

Answer Key for Common Core and State Standards

The Summer Road Trip Math Answer Key is aligned with Common Core and state standards, making it a valuable resource for educators and parents. The activities in the answer key are designed to reinforce the math concepts that students are learning in school, so they can continue to practice their skills while on summer break.

By aligning the answer key with Common Core and state standards, parents and educators can ensure that their child’s math education is not put on hold during the summer months. Instead, they can continue to practice their skills in a fun and engaging way.

Conclusion: The Benefits of Incorporating Math into Your Summer Road Trip

Incorporating math into your summer road trip can have numerous benefits for both parents and children. For parents, it’s a great way to keep their child’s math skills sharp during the summer months. For children, it’s a fun and engaging way to explore math concepts that they may not have encountered in school.

The Summer Road Trip Math Answer Key provides families with a valuable resource for incorporating math into their road trip activities. By choosing activities that are appropriate for their child’s math level, parents and educators can ensure that their child is getting the most out of their summer road trip. So, the next time you hit the road, don’t forget to bring along the Summer Road Trip Math Answer Key!

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Real World Math | The Algebra of Planning a Road Trip

When you plan a road trip, you use math literally every step of the way. What you may not know, however, is the right math term for what you’re calculating. So today, I’m going to walk you through a few steps of planning a road trip so you can see how Algebra helps you get from point A to point B successfully.

The first place you will encounter math when planning a road trip is by figuring out how far it is from where you want to start to where you want to go. For the sake of this example, we are going to plan a road trip from AskDrCallahan’s headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama all the way to Maine.

The first thing you’ll notice is how awesome the map looks. After that, though, pay attention to the three lines shown on the map. See how there are three different mapped out routes from Alabama to Maine?

And they all have different distances. Different distances means it takes longer to travel some of the routes than others.

But is that accurate?

Look again.

Notice some routes have extensive construction where other routes have far less. The number of times you stop along your chosen route, including construction zones, can make a shorter distance take longer to travel.

So how do you decide which one is right for you? Well, you have to use your logical thinking cap to consider which variables matter most to you, and you can apply a little Algebra .

In Algebra 1 you are taught a formula called The Distance Formula.

Distance = Rate (Time)

It allows you to calculate the distance, rate, and time of any given trip..

That means, if you plug in a slower rate for a longer trip, you might find that the longer route actually gets you there faster if it has less construction and allows you to go at a faster rate (speed).

A second place you will encounter Algebra 1 when planning a road trip is with your GPS.

Now, I know, you’re thinking—wait! GPS is a mapping service and it works by itself. I definitely will NOT need math when I’m using GPS.

Well, it turns out, when you take a long road trip there are things like wrecks, batteries that die, and just straight getting lost that can confuse both you and your onboard GPS to such a degree that you need to do your own recalculating.

Will you be able to get yourself to your desired destination if the GPS goes out? What will you do when the GPS isn’t aware of a road hazard that’s only been updated locally and therefore isn’t showing up on your GPS’s navigation system? Will you be able to take an alternate route?

The basics of using a good old fashioned paper map include two main math equations: Scale and Coordinates.

Scale is the idea that a large distance is represented by a small measurement. On a map, it might be shown as 1 cm = 10 miles. Therefore on your paper, the 1413 miles between Alabama and Maine would be a distance on paper of 141.1 cm. That allows you to hold an entire country in your hands (or in your car).

Coordinates on a map are written a lot like what you learn in Algebra 1 when you learn to graph on a coordinate plane. There are lines that run vertically, called Longitude lines and horizontal lines that are called Latitude. In Algebra 1 , you call these the x and y axes.

On a map, the equator is represented as 0 degrees and you count up and down from there to find different points on the globe.

Try it At Home

You can try your hand at reading a map by finding the country located at (0 degrees, 60 degrees West)

The west designation there is included to let you know to look in the western hemisphere. Give it a try. Did you find it? (Post your answer in the comments!)

Now there’s a massive amount of additional Algebra and Geometry you can practice when planning a road trip, but hopefully, this gives you a nice introduction to exactly how math helps make traveling a lot more fun, and a lot less dangerous! Just planning one road trip you will use the Algebra concepts of estimation, rounding, decimals, fractions, ratio, proportion, rational expressions, conversions, rates, and The Distance Formula. Not to mention the regular operations of additional, multiplication, division, and subtraction.

Math is a powerful tool that works behind the scenes on many of our everyday activities—like going on vacation, enabling us to do more and go further by knowing how to use it.

Can you go an entire day without math? No numbers, no measuring, and no calculating of any kind for a full 24 hours.

Can you do it report back to us in the comments., 1 thought on “ real world math | the algebra of planning a road trip ”.

Thanks, it’s quite informative

Comments are closed.

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Project Based Learning Idea: Plan a Road Trip

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Project based learning is a great way to expose students to real world problems and activities. PBL activities engage them in learning skills and problem solving in a way that traditional class activities don’t. If you’ve never tried a PBL project, you will love it, AND your students will ask for more! These project based learning ideas for middle school and elementary students are just what you need to get started.

Who doesn’t love an epic road trip? Road trips are filled with memories, fun, adventure, and excitement.  But planning a road trip is anything but easy. There are so many amazing math, reading, writing, map reading and problem solving skills involved in a road trip that it is the perfect task for a fun project based learning activity.

Plan a Road Trip Project

This project based learning activity  will have your students planning a road trip from start to finish.  Students can work independently or in small groups as they work through this PBL project. Although working in small groups can sometimes be more difficult, it also gives students opportunities to develop communication skills and inter-personal problem solving skills.

A great way to introduce this project is to show kids a variety of print or video commercials for vacation destinations. Show pictures from a personal road trip that you’ve taken. You can even ask your students to talk about road trips they have taken with their families or friends. Once the class is excited about the topic, it’s time to let them get started

The  Plan a Road Trip PBL Project  has everything you need to get you class started. Just choose the activities from the packet you want your students to complete. Start with the planning pages included in the project. You can then do all of the activities or choose the ones that best meet your own learning objectives.

This resource includes a variety of printable activity pages and 3 final projects – more than enough for a great PBL unit. You can choose to have the students complete one final activity at the end, or weave them into the project so they ultimately complete all three projects.

1. Choose a Destination

Students start by choosing 4 possible destinations for their road trip. After doing some basic research on each location they then narrow down their options to one final destination.

Let your students determine whether they will visit one place or make a loop from start to finish in order to see multiple locations, or whether to travel near or far. For older students, a great way to add a new level of complexity to the project is to give them an overall road trip budget.

After students choose their destination, you could add in project #1, Mapping the Route. This would be a great place to have students create a map of the road trip with labeled states and destinations!

2. Prepare for the Road Trip

Choosing the destination is just the start! Students will then work on planning their road trip. In this planning phase they will be working on activities like:

• The Packing List
• Must-See Spots
• Places to Stay
• Distance Traveled
• Time and Money on the Road
• So Much More!

As students research and complete the pages, they use many different problem-solving skills, while strengthening their reading, writing, and math skills. As you can see there is no academic skill loss in this project!

Students will document their amazing  road trip project  by creating their own road trip selfies, music play list and more.  They will send postcards to their friends from one or more locations and they can even design a billboard for one of the tourist attractions they visit.

3. A Virtual Road Trip

Once back home from their virtual road trip students will spend some time reminiscing!  They will love writing about their favorite places and activities along the way. This is the perfect place for project #3 – An Amazing Destination. In this persuasive writing activity, students write about their destination in an attempt to get others to visit it too!

Finish up with your very own Travel TV Show where students present their road trips to the class.  A fun way to end is to let students vote on where they want to go next based on their classmates presentations!

4. The Final Projects

Once students have completed the planning pages, it’s time to assign one (or all) of the three final projects! You can choose any or all of these final projects. And yes, the scoring rubrics are included!

Final Road Trip Project Options:

• Mapping the Route
• Create a Destination Brochure
• An Amazing Destination Paragraph Writing

Once back home from their virtual road trip students will spend some time reminiscing!  They will love writing about their favorite places and activities along the way.  This is the perfect place for project #3 – An Amazing Destination.  This persuasive writing activity has students write about their road trip or one destination in an attempt to get others to visit it too!

Ready to get started?

If you need more ideas on  how to use project based learning in your classroom, check out this blog post filled with ideas .

Are you a parent or family getting ready to go on an actual road trip? Check out this great list of  30 Road Trip Trivia Games  by Outdoorish.com!

SAVE THIS POST FOR LATER

If you are not quite ready for this fun and engaging project, then pin it to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can find it quickly when you are ready!

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Hi, I’m Shelly! Thank you for being here. I love helping third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers with fun and engaging activities that require no to little prep! Let me help you by taking some of the stress and work off your plate.

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Summer Road Trip Project

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Your students will use their knowledge of ratios, rates, proportions, and percents to help plan a summer road trip for “Debbie”. The project is broken up into the following tasks:

Task #1 : Calculate Total Miles Traveled

Math Skill Required:  Scale Factors

Description: Students will use a map with a scale factor and a ruler to determine the total miles of the trip.

Task #2: Choose Car Rental

Math Skill Required:  Unit rates and percentage discounts.

Description: Students will be given options for a car rental and need to calculate the cheapest option including what will be spent on gasoline. They will be given rates per day, as well as miles per gallon for each vehicle.

Task #3: Snack Shopping

Math Skill Required : Unit Rates

Description: Students will find unit rates to decide which snacks to purchase for the road trip.

Task #4: Hotel Costs

Math Skill Required:  Sales tax and discounts.

Description: Students will figure out the cost for the hotel stays based on rates per night, sales tax and fees, and percent discounts.

Task #5: City Attractions

Math Skill Required:  Proportions

Description: Students will set up proportions to solve problems about the attractions that Debbie will be visiting.

Task #6: Miscellaneous Expenses

Math Skill Required: Markups and Discounts

Description: As Debbie shops for last minute trip items, the students will help her calculate costs that involve markups and discounts.

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Road Trip (Problem Solving)

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Plan a cross-country road trip through various U.S. state capitals. First choose a vehicle to drive, and then fill up the tank with gas and go! Find the range and gas mileage of each vehicle, and discover the shortest path between two cities.

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Long Live Summer Road Trip Answers

Long Live Summer Road Trip Answers - Displaying top 8 worksheets found for this concept.

Some of the worksheets for this concept are Activity, Simple compound and run on sentences, Would you rather road trip game, Grade 8 english language arts practice test, English language arts reading comprehension grade 8, What can a journey along the silk road tell us about the past, Psatnmsqt practice test 1, Preposition exercises.

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Plan Your Dream Road Trip | PBL Project 6th Grade Math

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This Plan Your Dream Road Trip is an engaging PBL project for your students to dive into real world Math application while practicing Math, Geography, and problem solving skills. Students will plan their road trip from start to finish in a 9 part process that includes their travel plans, mapping it out, creating an itinerary and calculating expenses, building their model, and practicing 3 6th grade Math standards (rates, area, and volume). This project based learning resource is geared towards engaging 5th-8th grade students.

About This Product:

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-25+ page printable PDF includes:

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-Perfect for 5th-8th grade

-Aligned to 6th grade Common Core Standards

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