The Magical Island of Stories
Have you ever heard of an island called Neverland? It’s a magical island created by J.M. Barrie that’s filled with fairies like Tinker Bell, mermaids, and other mystical creatures. It’s also home to the famous Peter Pan! Let’s use math to learn a little bit more about this wondrous place and the people and creatures who live there!
Choose the word problem below that’s the right skill level for you. Take your time working it out — and no peeking! We know you can do it! When you feel you’ve found the answer, see the next page to check your solution against ours.
Lower Elementary:
Question: John is older than Michael. Wendy is older than John. If Michael is 3 years old and Wendy is 12 years old, could John be 120 months old?
Upper Elementary:
Question: A fairy can fly 16 miles per hour. If the fairy leaves for Neverland at 8:03 pm and gets there at 7:33 am, then how far away is Neverland?
Middle School:
Question: Wendy and the Lost Boys are taking turns reading each other a bedtime story. Wendy reads 50% of the story. Tootles, Nibs, Slightly, and Curly each read 50% of the number of pages that are left on each of their turns. Finally, the twins each read 50% of the remaining pages. What percentage of the story has been read by the time it’s the twins’ turn to read?
Algebra and Up:
Question: A swimmer is 20 meters from a boat. A crocodile is 30 meters behind the swimmer. If the crocodile swims 4 meters per second and the swimmer swims 2 meters per second, will the crocodile catch the swimmer before he reaches the boat?
