Activity 3: Water bills (Maths)
1. PLAY the video segment
|
In the video, Sophie and Tye are interviewing Nik as a potential housemate.
Nik is amazed that the 'interview' is short and Tye and Sophie only ask if he has a job (and some money). |
|
2. FIND your water meter at home. Write down the water reading and check it again at exactly the same time in one week. Take the second reading away from the first.
a. How much water (in kilolitres) did your household use in one week?
b. If water costs 85 cents a kilolitre, how much will this cost?
3. Now, ANSWER the following questions.
a. If Sophie, Nik and Tye used 100.5 kilolitres over a 3-month period (with 31 days each month), what was their average daily water usage?
b. If water costs 75 cents per kilolitre, how much is the water bill?
(Hint: multiply kL by 0.75 to get an answer in dollars.)
c. If the previous bill had been $101.45 for the same number of days, were they using less or more water?
d. Here are some estimates of how much water is used in everyday activities:
|
Toilet |
Full flush
Half flush |
10 L
5 L |
|
Cleaning teeth |
Tap on
Tap off |
5 L
1 L |
|
Bath |
Full |
180 L |
|
Shower |
Per minute |
15 L |
|
Slightly dripping tap |
Per day |
30 L |
How many litres of water are used if:
- three members of a household have a 7-minute shower each morning
- for a week?
- five members clean their teeth twice a day with the tap on for a week?
- five members clean their teeth twice a day with the tap off for a week?
- a tap is left slightly dripping for two weeks?
This activity can be found in the NSW Money Stuff Teacher resource book– Mathematics page 26 .
Explore additional learning activities (which include extension and revision tasks) in the print resources section under Print resources - Victoria.
Linked Learning Outcomes - NSW
Theme 6: Mathematics in the Community
The student interprets and uses written and graphical information to solve problems related to consumer arithmetic.
Learning Outcomes – Victoria
Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) Discipline-based learning
Domain: Maths
Dimension: Number, Space, Measurement, Chance and data, Structure and Working Mathematically
Level 5
Students use efficient mental and/or written methods for arithmetic computation involving rational numbers, including division of integers by two-digit divisors.
Students formulate conjectures and follow simple mathematical deductions.
Level 6
Students carry out arithmetic computations involving natural numbers, integers and finite decimals using mental and/or written algorithms.
Students choose, use and develop mathematical models and procedures to investigate and solve problems set in a wide range of practical, theoretical and historical contexts.
Learning Outcomes - Western Australia
(Maths)
PA 17a.4 Interprets tables and graphs showing two quantities changing with respect to each other in everyday situations.
N 8.5 Calculates with integers, decimals and fractions using mostly mental strategies.