"We're going to grandma's today! She lives 37 miles away, and the speed limit is 25 mph the first three miles, 55 mph the next 25 miles, and 35 the rest of the way. How long will it take to drive there?"

Short answer:
3 hours and 42 minutes.

Show your work:
1) Leave house, get in car.
2) Leave car, go back in house to retrieve forgotten car keys
3) Get in car, start car, pull out of driveway.
4) Pull back in driveway, turn off car, go back in house to retreive forgotten kids.
5) Search house for kids, who don't WANT to go to grandma's becasue she smells funny and only has dial-up internet.
6) Wrangle kids into car, start car, pull out of driveway.
7) Pull back in driveway, let kid back inside the house because she has to go potty RIGHT NOW, DADDY!
8) Wait...
9) Wait...
10) Go inside to see what is taking kid so long, drag her away from distracting Spongebob show.
11) Get in car, pull out of driveway, try to make up time in the first 3 miles by going 40 mph.
12) Pull over. I said PULL OVER, sir!
13) Show Officer registration and... wait... where's my wallet???
14) Ask kid giggling in back seat what is so funny.
15) Have Officer escort you back to house, where kid "hid" daddy's wallet in the cat's litter box as a joke.
16) Try to NOT make up time in first 3 miles by going EXACTLY 25 mph.
17) Merge onto Freeway - 55 mph for next 25 miles...
18) Merge off Freeway after 1 mile... kid "forgot" to go to the bathroom becasue of Spongebob.
19) 3.6 miles searching for Gas Station. Another 4.2 searching for one with a clean restroom.
20) Back on Freeway... another 24 miles at 55 mph.
21) Traffic. 55 mph is now 5 mph.
22) Finally, off Freeway - 35 mph for 9 miles.
23) Construction detour. Make that 15 miles instead of 9.
24) Grandma's house! Pull into driveway.
25) Pull out of driveway. Grandma is expecting us Saturday. This is Friday. Grandma at Bingo.

All times are, of course, approximate.

-wassamatta_u

So glad you've finally learned to SHOW YOUR WORK!

You're cracking me up over here! So true...though never had the lost wallet issue...thank god!

Well done in many, many ways!.

Thanks for the laugh(s)!

MLR

You certainly get an A for effort, wassa! =)

-- Ryan

Quote

Short answer:
3 hours and 42 minutes.

Show your work:
1) Leave house, get in car....

What, do you have cameras hidden in my house and car?!

I just want to know when my kids can begin courses at Wassamatta U!

-AG

We just went through this at home. My kid is a reader and he was trying to read word problems all the way through...then solve.
Encourage reading several words, underlining important words, then solving one part at a time.

I had to explain that a math problem is not a story, it is a step-by-step puzzel!!

Take it from a HSing Mom / College student!!

Flat Buddy!