7th Grade Math Summer-Road Trip Project
This summer, your family has decided to take a road trip. You will start in Houston and
travel to five other U.S. cities before returning to Houston. It is your job to decide what
cities to visit and calculate how far you will travel.
Part 1 Choose 5 cities to travel to on your road trip. Using a ruler, draw out your route
on a US map. Then, using the map scale, determine the length of their road trip in
miles.
Part 2 You will use proportions to see how much you spend using gas mileage and
fuel costs for various vehicles to determine which vehicle students would take on their
road trip.
On Part 3, you will calculate food costs, hotel costs, and rental car costs. Display your
project on a poster board for presentations.
Materials Needed:
Ruler
Poster
Road Trip Project Packet
Road Trip Project
This summer, your family has decided to take a road trip. You will start in Houston and travel to five other U.S. cities before returning to Houston. It is your job
to decide what cities to visit and calculate how far you will travel.
Step 1: Plan your trip. You may only visit cities that are included on the given map. Choose which 5 cities you will be visiting during your summer vacation.
Specify both the city and the state.
Starting City
Houston, TX
City #1
City #2
City #3
City #4
City #5
Ending City
Houston, TX
Step 2: Using a ruler, draw a straight line connecting each city you will be visiting. (Draw a straight line from Houston to City #1. Then, draw a straight line
from City #1 to City #2, etc.)
Step 3: Using the ruler, measure the length of the line connecting each city in your trip. ROUND EACH DISTANCE TO THE NEAREST QUARTER INCH. Fill out
the following table:
Starting City
Ending City
Distance on Map (in inches)
Houston, TX
Houston, TX
Step 4: Use the scale on the map to write a ratio of distance on map to distance in real life. Your ratio should be written as a fraction. Be sure to include
units.
Step 5: Calculate the distance of each leg of your trip using the ratio you just found. Set up a proportion and cross multiply to find the distance in real life
between each of the cities. ROUND TO THE NEAREST MILE.
List 2 Cities and Distance
in Inches
Proportion
Show Work
Step 6: Find the total distance traveled during your road trip.
Distance in Miles
Name:
Road Trip Project : Part Two
Number of Miles Traveled ______________________
Your family has decided to rent a vehicle for your road trip. It is your job to determine which vehicle you should rent. You have 6 choices.
2014 Ford Mustang
2014 Smart Car
2014 Dodge Ram
2014 Honda Odyssey
2014 Chevrolet Tahoe
2014 Jeep Wrangler
Cost to
Drive
25
Miles
$4.26
$2.90
$6.75
$4.67
$5.76
$5.44
Fuel to
Drive
25
Miles
1.09 gallons
0.69 gallons
1.67 gallons
1.19 gallons
1.47 gallons
1.39 gallons
___________
__________
Step 9: Calculate the average gas mileage of each vehicle on the previous page. Show your Work!
Calculated
MPG
____________
___________
___________
___________
Step 10: Write a paragraph describing which vehicle you should rent and why. Describe how you used pre-algebra to help make this decision.
Step 7: Calculate how much it would cost to drive each vehicle during your
summer road trip. Use the information on the front of this piece of paper to
create a proportion.
Vehicle
Proportion
Show Work
Total Cost
Vehicle
Step 8: Calculate how much fuel would be required to drive each vehicle
during your summer road trip. Use the information on the front to create a
proportion
Proportion
Show Work
Total Fuel
Required
Road Trip Project: Part Three
Step 1: How long will you spend in each city?
City 1:
City 2:
City 3:
City 4:
City 5:
Days Spent Sightseeing __________________________________________________________
Step 2: You can travel 800 miles in 1 day. Calculate the number of days you will spend driving from city
to city.
Use a proportion! This does not include the time you will spend sightseeing.
Days Spent Driving
__________________________________________________________
Total Days of Vacation ___________________________________________________________
Step 3: You will need a hotel room for every day of your vacation except the last.
Hotel Rating
Cost per Night
$45
$55
$75
$200
$300
Create a table showing the number of nights you will spend in each type of hotel and the amount spent
on each type of hotel.
Hotel Rating
Money Spent on Hotels
Number of Days
Cost per Night
Total Cost
_____________________________________________
Step 4: For each day you spend driving, you will eat 3 meals. You may choose where you eat your meals.
Fast Food Restaurant
Nice Restaurant
Fancy Restaurant
$5.50
$10.00
$25.00
Total Days of Vacation ______________ X 3 Meals per Day = __________________ Meals
Type of Restaurant
Number of Meals
Cost per Meal
Total Cost
Money Spent on Food ____________________________________________________
Step 5: Your rental car will cost $60 per day plus 30 cents per mile. Calculate the cost for renting the
vehicle for the entire trip.
Money Spent on Rental Car _________________________________________________
TOTAL COST OF TRIP
FUEL (Day 2 Handout)
RENTAL CAR (Step 5)
HOTEL (Step 3)
FOOD (Step 4)
TOTAL COST OF ROAD TRIP
______________________________________________________________________