Sparking A Fire With Real
Life Mathematical
Investigation
Lamont Holifield, M. Ed., CICS Ellison
Imathination 2012 Math Bash
Friday, January 20, 2012
Rationale for this topic:
In many schools, we struggle to engage
students in the Mathematics Classroom.
 Many teachers claim that they have made
connections to the real-world by ending
the lesson listing ways that the math is
used in the real-world.
 The reality is that we must find a way to
aid students in learning without realizing
they are doing mathematics.

Sparking A Fire
Investigation #1: The People Dilemma
It took 6 people 8 days to build a brick
wall.The construction crew needs to build
an identical wall but need it done faster.
If they add two people to the crew, how
long will the brick wall take to build now?
Think 1
1
2
3
4
6
8
person:
people:
people:
people:
people:
people:
48 days
24 days
16 days
12 days
8 days
6 days
Chief Skill: Combination that multiply to
total 48.
Investigation #2: The Pay Day Loan
Dilemma
“I have a great deal for you. Only 16-2/3
interest every two weeks!”
Have students engage in the calculations.
Quick-Loans at 16.67% Interest
Double Every 9 Weeks
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
9:
18:
27:
36:
45:
54:
63:
$200
$400
$800
$1600
$3200
$6400
$12,800
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
72:
81:
90:
99:
108:
117:
126:
$25,600
$51,200
$102,400
$204,800
$409,600
$819,200
$1,638,400
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
Week
135:
144:
153:
162:
171:
180:
$3,276,800
$6,553,600
$13,107,200
$26,214,400
$52,428,800
$104,857, 6000
Week 312: 3,000,000,000,000
Investigation #3: Media and Government
Math Mistakes Have Consequences
An article making fun of math mistakes
goes on to say:
“The formula works for a right triangle not
an isosceles.”
“The sum of the squares of the two legs of
a right triangle is equal to the sum of the
square of the remaining side” –
Pythagorean Theorem
Investigation #4: Probability and U
Find the probability of someone snoring.
Solution:
Investigation #5
Algebra and the Birthday Problem
Presenter will read the steps. All will
follow the steps and be amazed to get
their birthdays.
 Presenter will then guide students in
doing the algebra and helps students to
create their own mathematical games.

Investigation #6:
Test Your Memory Residual Line Activity
Statistics and AP Statistics
◦ Prior to creating, have students give you a list
of their favorite celebrities (sports, movie stars,
politicians)
◦ This activity will allow students to guess the
age of those on the list. After which you will
provide them with the actual ages. They will
compute the residuals and complete an activity
which will aid them in understanding the
residual plot and line of best fit.
Great Resource For Many Other Activities
25 Real Life Math Investigations That Will
Astound Teachers and Students, by
Edward Zaccaro
Contact Me:
Lamont Holifield
CICS-Ellison High School
1817 W. 80th Street
Chicago, IL 60620
lholifield@cicsellison.org
773-307-0734
Thanks for Your Participation