Group Activity Cards

Use groups of 2. Materials: Atlas, ruler, calculator or spreadsheet

A Trip With Proportions

In this activity, you will plan a driving trip. In groups of 2, plan a trip to any location in the United States or Canada. Make sure that you have at least 4 stops. On a sheet of paper, list the stops for your trip. For example, for the first stop, you might travel from Boise, ID, to Seattle, WA, and then from Seattle, WA, to Portland, OR, and so on. (Make sure that you include the distance from the last stop to your home.) Next, using a ruler measure each of the distances. Using the key on the map and proportions, calculate each individual distance in miles and then find the total driving distance. Show all of your work.

Next, choose a vehicle to use for the trip. Find out the approximate number of miles per gallon that the vehicle gets. Using the average miles per gallon, calculate how many gallons of gas would be used for the trip. Finally, research gas prices. Calculate how much money you would spend on gas for your trip.

Now, examine your route. Could you have taken a different route? Would you have saved money in gas?

Share your trip with the class. You may want to make an overhead of a map and color your route for the entire class to see. Or, you could create a poster-sized map with different routes traced in different colors to show the miles and cost for each route.