Grade level: 4 – 6th grades
Math skills: Speed
Related Environmental issues: Biodiversity / Deforestation
Javan rhinos, or Asian rhinos, are one of the most endangered animals with only about 60 indivisuals.
Rhinos can run at the speed of 50 km per hour. Usain Bolt ran 100 meters at 9.58 seconds. Who can run faster? Explain.
Answer: Rhinos
50 km = 50,000 m
50,000 / 100 = 500
Usain Bolt runs 50km in
[9.58 x 500 = 4,790 seconds] if he keeps running at the same speed. The running speed of rhinos is 50km per 3,600 seconds (=1hour) while that of Usain Bolt is 50km per 4,790 seconds. Rhino can run about 1.3 times faster than Usain Bolt.
(Usain Bolt’s running speed is 37.5 km per hour.)
“Once the most widespread of Asian rhinos, Javan rhinos are now listed as critically endangered. With only one known population in the wild, it is one of the world’s rarest large mammals.
There are between 58 and 68 in the wild, with none living in captivity. The rhinos are often poached for their horns, although loss of habitat, especially resulting from the Vietnam War, has also contributed to their decline.
The only population of Javan rhinos can be found in Ujung Kulon National Park on the south-western tip of Java, Indonesia. The only other population, in Vietnam, was wiped out in 2010.”
(Source: Wanderlust, 2020 : https://www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/10-of-the-worlds-most-endangered-animals/)
Factful Environmental Math Problems (2020)
Just published and now available from Amazon (paperback)
About this book
The objective of Factful Environmental Math Problems is to cultivate our young people’s skills to analyze and evaluate fact-based data for understanding our world, while improving their math skills and critical thinking skills.
With the rise of the Internet and new technology, building skills to analyze and evaluate fact-based data becomes increasingly important for our young people to prepare for this rapidly changing world. These skills minimize their chances of being brainwashed by false information and making uninformed decisions and ultimately help develop their critical thinking skills. (Read more)
Published: March 26, 2020
Price: $6.25