Word Problem Wednesday: Healthy Eating

By Mathnasium | September 16, 2020

While healthy eating may not always seem fun, getting into the habit of fueling our bodies with nutritious foods is super important. It keeps us from getting sick and gives us the energy for all kinds of things like doing those never-ending household chores and hiking our favorite mountain trails.

This week’s word problems feature healthy eating options for Natalie, William and Mason. But they can apply to us too. So read the following problems and choose the one that’s the right skill level for your child. Have them give it a try. And when they feel they’ve found the answer, check their solution against ours on the next page.

Questions

Lower Elementary:
Question: Natalie prepares 16 ounces of broccoli for family dinner night. Each of the 4 people in Natalie’s family eats the same amount of broccoli, and there are 4 ounces of broccoli left over. How many ounces of broccoli does each family member eat?

Upper Elementary:
Question: William used to drink 6 cans of soda per day, but he decided to replace his soda with bottled water. If a can of soda costs $0.85 and a bottle of water costs $0.75, then how much money does William save each week by swapping from soda to water?

Middle School:
Question: A 12-ounce steak has 92 grams of protein. A 6-ounce serving of chicken has 52 grams of protein. A 9-ounce serving of salmon has 63 grams of protein. If Mason wants to cook the option with the most protein per ounce, then which should he choose?

Algebra and Up:
Question: A 16–ounce green smoothie with 1 scoop of super vitamin powder costs $4.85. A 16–ounce green smoothie with 3 scoops of super vitamin powder costs $5.55. Write a function of x, the number of scoops of super vitamin powder, that yields the cost of a green smoothie.