Seventh Grade Math

Up until geometry in 8th or 9th grade, math was probably my favorite subject as it came easy to me. That's why working with The Moose on his math homework can be somewhat challenging and frustrating. I generally know the answer but have trouble explaining it. Let's take a look at this recent homework.

Laurel charges $85 to groom a dog. Tuesday is her slowest day, so she offers a 15% discount if you bring your dog in on a Tuesday. How much will you pay if you bring your dog in on Tuesday to get groomed?

The instructions direct students to solve this program using the four-step proportion method. I have no idea what this means. My seventh grader insisted that the answer is $44.75. I tried to explain that this amount is nearly a 50% discount and that if you gave Laurel this amount, she would wait until you gave her more. While I knew the answer, I couldn't explain how to solve this using the four-step method. That's where the frustration comes in for both of us.

Let's take a look at one more question.

Kaden needs to buy a new screen for his iPhone. The screen sells for $164, and he has a coupon for 30% off. If Kaden received $100 for his birthday, how much more money does he need in order to buy the new screen for his iPhone?

Several thoughts on this one. First, why not just have "phone" in the question? Did Apple give the person who wrote this question an iPhone so that their product would appear? That's some unique marketing. Next, what did Kaden do with the $100? Does he have all of the $100 or did he spend some of it on apps or lunch? That seems relevant to this question. 

Just for fun, feel free to solve these questions and put the answers in the comments section below. If you get them correct, you can get a gold star!