Grade
3

Math in Our World: Ramp Racing

Belle is ready to send her toy car down a ramp.

Belle set up a ramp to race toy cars. She and her two brothers each sent one car down the ramp.

Belle’s car won the race. Her car went 67 inches. That’s a lot farther than Gavin’s car went. Vic’s car lost by just 9 inches.

  1. Use pictures, models, or numbers to show what is happening.
  2. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
  3. What math questions can you ask about this situation? Answer all the questions you can!
  • How far did Vic’s car go? How do you know?
  • How far could Gavin’s car have gone?
  • Try drawing a number line to model the problem.
  • Show your work to someone and explain your thinking. Did they understand?
  • Ask whether they have any other questions you can answer!
  • Have a jumping race! Use paper or tape to form a starting line. Have your friends or family members line up on the line. Each of you should take 2 jumps and then measure the distance you’ve gone. How do the lengths of your jumps compare?
  • Did you win? If you did, how much farther did you jump than the next closest person? If you didn’t win, how close were you to jumping the farthest?
  • Write a set of equations to explain the results of your race.
Printable Version

Google doc for printing and copying

Reference for Educators

Sample problems and solutions