Activity 3: The Midnight Zone
One of these creatures is called the ‘Colossal Squid.’ A colossal squid can weigh as much as 495 kilograms (kg)! Here in New Zealand, we have a full sized colossal squid on display at Te Papa Museum in Wellington. It is the only specimen of its kind in the entire world! This squid weighs approximately 500 kg. In 2018, a team at Te Papa decided to move the giant squid from one area of the museum to another. Deep in the ocean, far below the surface, lies an area called the ‘Midnight Zone.’ It is called the midnight zone because it is always dark or ‘pitch black’ in this area. Much of the deep sea has yet to be explored by humans, however, we do know a little bit about the creatures that live here.
Let’s imagine that the average adult can lift 25 kg and the average child can lift 15 kg. How many adults and children will it take to move the giant squid into its new room at Te Papa? [Note: There is more than one right answer to this question.]
On your blog, tell us how you will solve this maths problem. You can write your answer in words, use a Sketchpad image or post a video explaining how you would figure it out. Be sure to give us your final answer. .
The squid normally weighs 495kg. My possible answer would be 40 people
because I just went 25 + 15 which equals to 40 people.
Hi Helena,
ReplyDeleteCan you please tell me why you chose the numbers 25 and 15 and why you have decided to add these two together? Remember that this question has asked you to think about how many adults AND children it will take to move the giant squid.
The answer should be in a format: "__ adults and __ children". Note that there could be more than one correct answer for this question.
To help you understand better, let's say that I guessed we will need "4 adults and 2 children" to move the squid.
* Each adult can lift 25 kg so 25 kg x 4 would equal to 100 kg.
* Each child can lift 15 kg so 15 kg x 2 would equal to 30 kg.
* If I add these two together, 100 kg + 30 kg would equal to 130 kg.
* 130 kg is way below 495 kg (the weight of the squid) so it would mean that my answers would have to be much higher.
This question is basically thinking about the different possibilities to get closest to the number 495 (kg). Do you think you can play around with numbers and have a go at solving this question again? Don't be afraid and just have a go! I am happy to help if you get an incorrect answer. Maths is all about making mistakes and learning as you go. :)
Happy blogging and I hope to hear back from you soon,
Susie