Grade
5

Math in Our World: Pool Time!

Plans for a new community pool area were recently announced in our town. It’s going to have not one, not two, but three pools!

  • The wading pool is 8 feet × 10 feet and the water is 2 feet deep.
  • The kid’s splash pool is 20 feet × 40 feet and 3 feet deep.
  • The lap pool is for swimming and for strong swimmers. It’s 75 feet × 40 feet and 8 feet deep.

The pools won’t be ready until next summer, but we’re already excited!

  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!
  • You might sketch the pools, labeling their dimensions.
  • Maybe you could find the volume of one pool. How much water will it hold? Multiply the three dimensions in any order. You could use open arrays and partial products to multiply.
  • Show your work to someone and explain your thinking. Did they understand?
  • Ask whether they have any other questions you can answer!

Some people train for long swim races in the pool. Swimming a mile or more is pretty hard! How many times would you have to swim the lengths of the lap pool to swim a mile, or a half mile? (1 mile = 5,280 feet.)

Printable Version

Google doc for printing and copying

Reference for Educators

Sample problems and solutions