NUMBER PROBLEMS AND STORIES

1. The following number sequence is called the Fibonacci sequence: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13.... What is the next number in the sequence? (21) How do you know? (Each new number is obtained by adding the previous two numbers: I + I = 2, 1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 5 = 8, 5 + 8 = 13, 8 + 13 = 21)
   
2. It takes about 5 seconds for the sound of thunder to travel I mile. About how long would it take the sound of thunder to travel 2 miles? (10 seconds) About how long would it take the sound of thunder to travel 5 miles? (25 seconds) About how far can the sound of thunder travel in I minute? (12 miles) About how far can the sound of thunder travel in 1/2 minute? (6 miles)
   
3. People dream an average of five times a night? At that average, about how many dreams might you have tonight? (5 dreams) About how many dreams would you have had last night and the night before? (10 dreams) About how many dreams might you have had since Tuesday? About how many dreams do you have in one week? (35 dreams) About how many dreams might our whole class have on some Tuesday night? (number of students x 5) About how many dreams might you have in one month? (150 dreams) In a year? (1, 800 dreams)
   
4. Each toilet flush uses about7gallons of water. About how many gallons of water do 2 toilet flushes use? (14 gal.) 3 flushes? (21 gal.) 4 flushes? (28 gal) About how many quarts of water does each flush use? (28 qt) 2 flushes? (56 qt) About how many pints of water does each flush use? (56 pints) How many times would we need to flush a toilet to use about 1 12 pints of water? (2 times) If there are four people in my family and each person flushes the toilet 3 times a day, about how many gallons of water are used? (84 gal)
   
5. About half a person's weight is water. About how much of a person's weight is not water? (half) Kim weighs 60 pounds. About how much does the water in his body weigh? (30 pounds) Lisa weighs 50 pounds. About how much does the water in her body weigh? (25 pounds) About what percent of a person's weight is water? (50%) About what percent of a person's weight is not water'? (50%)
   
6. At room temperature, it takes a scoop of ice cream about 15 minutes to melt. What does "room temperature" mean? (the temperature of an average room; not too hot, not too cold,- probably about 70'F or about 20'C) If the room temperature is 80' F (about 26'C), will it take more or less than 15 minutes for a scoop of ice cream to melt? (less) If the room temperature is about 60'F (about 15'C), will it take more or less than 15 minutes for a scoop of ice cream to melt? (more) About how long would it take 2 scoops of ice cream at room temperature to melt? (just over 15 minutes; it would not take twice as long just because there are 2 scoops)

FACTS

1. A female alligator lays an average of 40 eggs each time she has young.
   
2. Elephants spend about 16 hours of every day eating.
   
3. Most elephants need only about 2 hours of sleep each day.
   
4. A growing child needs about 10 hours of sleep each night.
   
5. Milk spoils about 1 week after the expiration date on the package.
   
6. A dollar bill is about 6 inches long.
   
7. As a rule of thumb, children aged 6 to 10 outgrow their shoes about every 84 days.
   
8. About I of every 6 people is left-handed.
   
9. A US dollar bill has a lifespan of about 18 months.
   
10. As a rule of thumb, plant a flower bulb three times as deep as its length.
    
11. Your heart pushes about 5 tablespoons of blood into your arteries with each beat.
    
12. People take approximately 12 breaths a minute when they are relaxed.
    
13. The average city dweller walks about 6 feet per second while the average country dweller walks about 3 feet per second.
    
14. Penguins can swim about 15 miles in I hour. A fast human can swim about 3 miles in 1 hour.
    
15. The average person could survive 6 days without water if the outdoor temperature were around 60'F.
    
16. A small hummingbird can beat its wings about 70 times a second.
    
17. For water, it is said that "a pint is a pound the world around".
    
18. The earth travels about 18 miles per second in its orbit (path) around the sun.
    
19. If bacteria are given food and a warm place in which to grow, they can double their number about every half hour.
    
20. It is said that 10 people will raise the temperature of a medium-sized room about I'F in I hour.
    
21. The trunk of an average elephant can hold about 11/2 gallons of water.
    
22. On the average, a person grows a new eyelash every 3 months.
    
23. The shortest woman on record, Pauline Musters, was about 1 ft I I in tall. The tallest woman, Jane Bunford, was about 7 ft 11 in tall.
    
24. A baseball catcher squats an average of 16 times an inning.
    
25. A ping pong ball weighs 2.2399 to 2.6761 grams
    
26. The average person sheds 40 ponds of skin in a lifetime.
    
27. A dime has II 8 ridges around it.
    
28. Your brain is 80% water.
    
29. A new rule of thumb for finding the equivalent "human age" of a dog takes into account the fact that a dog can have puppies at I year and is full grown by 2 years. The rule suggests counting the first year of a dog's life as 15 human years, the second as 10, and each year after as 5.
    
30. About 443 million people in the world speak English. About 341 million people speak Spanish. And about 864 million people speak Mandarin Chinese.

Facts acquired from the following sources:

Minute Math + , Everyday Learning Corporation, The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project
The Trivia Book by Jack Kreismer