During the month of February, we want to share our love of math. Every kind of travel requires some planning, especially your mode of travel and expenses, and that kind of planning will always require math. With our kids’ math programs students can practice their elementary school math skills such and addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in a fun and interesting real-life way. Math help for kids doesn’t only take place in the classroom, it’s important to let children know that math is involved in every part of life! 

So here we go...are you ready to plan a vacation? Give this week’s word problem challenge a try. See if you can help Lina and Thomas plan their vacation to Fort Lauderdale. 

Question: Lina and Thomas are taking a vacation to Fort Lauderdale. Flights to

Fort Lauderdale cost $250 per ticket. Return flights cost $325 per ticket. Lina and Thomas have a coupon for 50% off the cost of a single one-way ticket. What is the least they could spend on airfare before tax?

Solution: To spend the least possible amount on their airfare, Lina and Thomas would need to use the coupon on one of the most expensive tickets. So, if they get 50% off a $325 ticket, one of those tickets is reduced to $325 ÷ 2 = $162.50. That means that the least Lina and Thomas could spend on airfare is $250 + $250 + $325 + $162.50 = $987.50.