Movie Popcorn
Name __________________________________
Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Dig-itty Dog! You are the owner of a swag new movie theater. Unfortunately, you
have not sold enough tickets recently and cannot pay your bills. AHHHHHHH! Being the resourceful
person that you are, you did some research. You found out that theaters make very little money on movie
tickets. They make their money on SNACKS! Yes, that horrible tasting, very expensive, movie popcorn,
candy, and soda.
Based on this research, you have a new plan. You are going to give away 50 FREE movie tickets (to see
Pitch Perfect 2). Since some customers are getting in for free, you are hoping that they will spend more
money on your over priced snacks.
In order for this plan to work, you need to analyze the pricing of your popcorn to be sure that your prices
are consistent. But, where do you start?
Here is what you know:
Small tubs currently cost $1. Medium tubs measure 9inches x 9 inches x 12 inches and cost $6. There is
also a large size tub.
With your team…. What information do you know? What information would be helpful to know?
How can you figure out the information based on what you know so far?
How can you best organize your information so that you can easily understand it?
Ava, Naomi, and Juliette looked at the prices and said, “Hey, these prices are not proportional!” “YIKES!”,
you say. You figure, that since Ava, Naomi, and Juliette noticed the prices were off, they would know how
to make them proportional.
What are Ava, Naomi, and Juliette talking about when they say that the prices are not proportional?
How would they have figured this out?
Why is this information important?
Aidan, Josh, and Jacob have been to this theater before. They have noticed that customers complain that
the large tub is too wide to carry into the theater without spilling. You decide to change the base (of the
large tub) to be a 10-inch square instead. You also think that to keep the same volume, you will need the
new tub to be 14 inches tall. You think that if you make the width of the tub two inches shorter, the
height should grow by two inches. Colette, Anna, and Sara disagree. They think that the new tub should
have a different height. Who is correct?
What new information did you just receive? (words, numbers, maybe a sketch as well)
What are you comparing? What do you need to find out in order to decide who is correct?
Make sketches to help you visualize the problem. Make a table to organize your thinking.
Skyler, Ellia, Dessi, and Omar decided to create a new size that is 50% wider (and longer) and 50% taller
than the small tub. They want you to charge 50% more. Is this a good decision? If so, why? If not, what
should you charge and what percent increase is this price? Justify your answer.
What new information did you just receive? (words, numbers, maybe a sketch as well)
What are you comparing? What do you need to find out in order to decide who is correct?
Kyle, Darien, Nathan, and Justin have a great idea. They want to design a $6 tub (so that with a $4 soda,
customers could just use a $10 bill and they would not have to make change.). You tell them to go for it!
Remember, the price should be proportional to the amount of popcorn. While the box can have any
length, width, and height, you want to be sure that the design is reasonable for someone to hold and for
employees to fill with popcorn.
What do you know (what are you given)? What are your constraints (what can you not do/exceed)?
Organize your thoughts in the space below.
Draw and label a diagram of your box when you have made your decision.