Gas Guzzler

What is the cost of gasoline per litre?


No Expectations/Standards Selected
CCSS Alignment By Grade
CCSS Alignment By Standard

Proportional Reasoning / Linear Patterning Real World Math Problem

This 3 Act Math Task focuses on the rate of change for proportional reasoning / linear patterning / direct variation linear relations problem.

Act 1 – Introducing the Task

Getting Ready To Gas Up

In the first act, students watch a 30 second video that shows someone pre-paying for gas, selecting the grade of fuel and start pumping. You’ll notice in the video that the cost per litre (rate of change) is blanked out on the pump.

Students will then be asked:

What is the price of gas?

Here are a few images in the case you don’t want to load a video / have a slow connection:

Act 2 – Revealing Some Information

Watch The Fuel Pump Metre As We Fuel Up

We then watch the gas being pumped in fast-forward and then at about the $20 mark, we see an image showing the price for a specific amount of fuel in Litres.

Students can then use the given information to determine the cost of fuel.

At this point, you can also ask the students to determine:

How much will it cost to pump _____ litres of fuel into the tank?

In this video, the total number of litres is 38.264 L. Suggesting they find the cost for exactly 38 L might lead to a good discussion about why the video doesn’t stop at exactly 38 L to fill the tank, etc.

Gas Guzzler - 3 Act Math - $20-29 for 14-819 Litres

Act 3 – Watching The Solution

Students See The Gas Price

This video shows both the cost of gas on the pump and on the Petro Canada sign.

The video also show how much gas was pumped into my 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan.

Extension Questions:

  • Did the 38.264 L fill the tank from empty? If not, what fraction or percent of the tank did it fill?
  • Is this scenario a direct or partial variation? How do you know?
  • Will you ever encounter a partial variation when filling up your vehicle like we viewed in this video?
  • What other 2-variable relationship could we explore in this situation other than Volume of Gas and Time?

Resources:

Grab them all here or, individually below:

Act 1 [VIDEO]
Act 2 [VIDEO]
Act 3 [VIDEO]
Presentation [KEYNOTE SLIDE DECK]

Here’s a quick look at what the slide deck looks like:


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About Kyle Pearce

I’m Kyle Pearce and I am a former high school math teacher. I’m now the K-12 Mathematics Consultant with the Greater Essex County District School Board, where I uncover creative ways to spark curiosity and fuel sense making in mathematics. Read more.


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