Thanksgiving’s comin’ up ’round the corner, so I figured I put up a little something about turkey and stuff. Check it out:

A 12lb turkey at the grocery store costs $13.50 and feeds 8 people. A pint of potato salad costs $3.50 per pint, and one pint can feeds about 3 people. A large can of yams is on sale for $4, and that feeds 5 people. Finally, a pumpkin pie feeds about 6 people and costs $4.99. Paula is shopping for Thanksgiving and is planning on having 16 guests, including herself. How much will it cost to make sure there is enough of each item for everyone?

This is the kinda question that shows how Math can be practical for everyday use, right? I’ve never bought thanksgiving dinner myself, but sometimes you get some friends comin’ over for some pizza and beers, and you gotta know how much to buy for everyone (and how much you charge them at the door).

So first thing I gotta do here is write out all the information, to make sure I get what they’re askin’.

Paula’s got 16 people comin’ for dinner. First I gotta break down the problem and see how many people each type of food feeds. I’ll make a quick list.

12lb Turkey – $13.50 – Feeds 8

Potato Salad – $3.50 – Feeds 3

Yams – $4.00 – Feeds 5

Pumpkin – $4.99 – Feeds 6
continue reading "GED Math: Thanksgiving"

Yo. Here’s a good question from Mark about somethin’ that’s real helpful for the GED: mental math. That’s doin’ math in your head. And it makes the GED math test easier and faster.

I used to work in a machine shop. Sometimes I would have to convert fractions to inches like 1/3. I know how to do that, all you have to do is divide 1 by 3. The question is, I always had to use a calculator, and I would like to do that without using a calcualtor. Every time I tried I would’nt get the proper answer. How do you do that without using a calculator.
Mark
continue reading "GED Question from Mark: Changing Fractions to Decimals"