Good morning!

If you watched our third read aloud yesterday, you’ll know we need to have our math brains on this morning!

As I say in my read aloud video, I love words and stories, but I am also a big fan of Math! In the book Lifetime we learned about different animals around the world and the number of times they will do something in their lifetime. The author uses averages to figure out how many beads a rattlesnake will add to its tail or how many sets of antlers BC’s mountain caribou will shed in their lifetime. Averages are only the typical or usual amount and there will, of course, be some animals with more or less than what we learn in the book.

You could write a book like Lola Schaefer if you can figure out the averages for these 2 animals. Add the numbers you have together, and then divide that amount by how many numbers you added together. Leave your answers in the comments below if you figure out the averages. Be sure to read the questions carefully! 🙂

  1. An average southern three-banded armadillo lives 14 years. Zoologists estimate that this armadillo will roll into a ball to protect itself 52 times a year. However, in the first 6 months of life, it doesn’t roll at all. Approximately how many times does an armadillo roll into a ball in its lifetime? Round your answer to the nearest hundred, please.
  2.  A female Florida bark scorpion’s life span is approximately 3.5 years (42 months). She will birth 2 broods of scorplings (baby scorpions) a year. Each brood contains an average of 47 scorplings. As soon as they are born, the scorplings crawl on their mother’s back for protection until they molt. How many scorplings will a female Florida bark scorpion carry on her back in one lifetime? Round your answer to the nearest 10, please.

Now that you can find averages, you could calculate what is the average number of times you brush your teeth in a week…or number of hours you read in a week…or how many times you smile each day…:)

Happy calculating!

Mrs. H.