Mathematics, grade 4, word problems (real world math)
Note, this post has been edited from its original version to address significant errors.
Do Now:
It's important for truck drivers to know how much their vehicle weighs, because heavy trucks cannot drive on certain roads.
Unfortunately, you do not know how much your truck weighs. You tried looking it up in the driver's manual, and on the internet, but nobody can tell you how much your truck weighs.
Until today! You are delivering lots of chemicals to a company that shall remain confidential. For security, this company has a massive scale at both the entrance and exit so they can make sure that delivery people like you aren't driving away with any stolen goods.
When you enter, you have to stop on top of a giant scale. It says your truck weighs 33,400 pounds.
However, this is not the true weight of your truck, because you came here with a lot of cargo. Each weight below includes the weight of the shipping container.
2,200 pounds of sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate powder
6,210 pounds of sodium hydroxide solution
2,560 pounds of a special chlorine solution (you don't know what's in it)
Before you leave, you drive over to a parking lot where a speaker plays the sounds of exotic birds on a constant loop. Each bird call happens one at a time with an eerie silence in between. There are no trees, only beige concrete. (You cannot share any footage of this bizarre experience, however, because you signed a "no photography" waiver, and you don't want to lose your job 😋) Here, you acquire 2 empty chemical containers, each weighing 125 pounds, and two bigger empty containers each weighing 300 pounds. You also acquire the feeling that you're being haunted by an angry kookaburra.
As you drive away, the scale at the exit says your truck weighs 23,080 pounds.
Calculate how much your truck will weigh when it is completely empty.
Share your calculations with a classmate. Did you get your answers the same way? Come up with reasons why you might have two different weights.
Your truck has 3 axles. Could you have driven on a road with the sign pictured at the beginning of the problem? (1 US ton = 2,000 pounds)
