Math Collaboration

Everyday the students spend at least 15 minutes working in small group solving various math problems.  It's a great way for them to use math talk with friends.  As a class we always talk about how we can learn more from each other than by ourselves.  Below is an example of the types of problems they are being asked to solve during these times.

A marine biologist is studying the different species of sea turtles.  She was able to catch 6 different kinds of sea turtles to get information on.  Below is a table showing the types of sea turtles she caught and the weights of each one.  Use this information to solve the problems below.

Types of Sea Turtles	Weights
Green Sea Turtle	427 pounds
Hawksbill Sea Turtle	135 pounds
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle	83 pounds
Leatherback Sea Turtle	1,567 pounds
Loggerhead Sea Turtle	175 pounds
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle	98 pounds

1. About how much more does the Green sea turtle weigh than the Loggerhead Sea turtle?  Without finding the exact values, tell how you can solve this problem.
2. About how much less does the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle weigh than the Leatherback sea turtle?  Without find the exact values, tell how you can solve this problem.
3. About how much do the Hawksbill sea turtle, Green sea turtle, and Olive Ridley sea turtle weigh in all?
4. How much more do the Leatherback sea turtle and Green sea turtle combined weigh compared to the Kemp’s Ridley, Loggerhead, and Hawksbill combined?

state populations

1. Find five different states and estimate their populations to the nearest million.
2. Then choose two of these states and find the difference between their estimated populations.
3. Find the estimated sum of these five states.