Fermi Math

Challenging Math Problems

for Fun and Enrichment

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2. Wild Guess:_________________

1. Question:

If you said the ABCs, continuously, for one day, how many times would you get through the whole

alphabet.

3. What other information do you need to answer this question? What do you need to research, measure, estimate, assume? • Would I stop to sleep, eat, use the bathroom? • How fast will I say the ABCs? • Will I keep a consistent speed the whole time? • How long does it take me to say the ABCs once? • How many times can I say the ABCs in one minute? • How many minutes are in an hour? • How many hours are in a day? Now look closely at the questions. Will some of them be more helpful than others? Are there any you could eliminate? 4. Now that you have thought about it a little more, what is your educated guess?__________________

Fermi Math Challenge

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5.. What steps will I follow? What calculations will I make? Are there numbers I could estimate? • Think about what further questions will be the most

helpful • Think about how to work backwards, where do you

need to start?

6. Gather your data- do your estimations, calculations, etc…

7. Conclusion Be creative when stating your final answer to the question. You can make a poster, diagram, slide show, model….anything you want! Be sure to explain: • What steps did you take? • What further questions did you need to answer? • What resources did you use? • Did you learn any interesting facts? • What evidence do you have that can show how you

came to your final answer? • What was challenging, easy, surprising?

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Digital papers, clip art, and fonts are from the following sources:

Clip Art by Carrie

Answer: I said the ABCs an average of six times per minute 6 x 60 = 360 times per hour Assuming that you DID NOT take breaks to sleep, eat, use the bathroom etc… 360 x 24 = 8, 640 I could say the ABCs continuously, 8, 640 times in 24 hours

I hope you and your students enjoyed this product! I would love to hear how you used it in your classroom.

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