Story Based (non-metric) Factor Label Problems

In chemistry, you will need to convert units many times, but you will also need to convert things that we don't think of as units. These problems will look like word problems, but still involved the same sort of math we have been doing.

Sample Problem 1

If each student in the class has three pencils and there are 31 students in the class, how many pencils are there?

Sample Problem 2

If each player on the baseball team takes 30 swings during batting pactice and each swing uses 4.3 calories, how many calories are burned when the 18 members of the team each take their turn at batting?

Sample Problem 3

Chickens on a particular farm lay an average of 8 eggs each week. If a farmer has 35 chickens and he earns 50 cents for each dozen eggs, how much money does he earn from eggs each week?

Your turn

Try the following problems. Answers are here.
A sociologist discovers a strange society which has only women, no men of any kind. (Don't ask how the reproduce--that's biology.)
In this place, every household is composed of:

• 1 mother
• 2 young daughters
• 3 aunts (without children of their own)
• 3 cats
• 1 dog

The sociologist learns a few important facts about the society:

• Each adult female drives her own car.
• Each cat eats 1 can of food a day but the dogs need two cans per day.
• The daughters all have three different pairs of jeans and 7 tops that they wear.
• Each daughter also goes to school and brings with her 2 notebooks and 5 pens.
• Each household lives in a house (surprise, surprise) that is covered by a single roof.
• Each house has 13 rooms including the 3 bathrooms.

Now, here are the questions. Answers are here.

1. How many girl's jeans would you find if you looked in enough homes to see 91 rooms?
2. How many pets would follow you home after such a trip? (Assume that all possible pets do follow you.)
3. If one aunt from each household on a street that has 42 bathrooms goes shopping for a week's worth of pet food, how many cans of dog food will be purchased. How many cans of cat food?
4. If you stop at the mall and see 144 cars in the lot how many daughters are in the mall? (assume that all of the families went together in as many cars as they had available.)
5. The CEO of a computer software company wants to hold a picnic in the local park. The park only allows 1355 pets at a time (it's a big park!), but it counts each dog twice since they make more of a mess. The park also only has space for 1360 cars (remember that each family always takes as many cars as possible). How many employee's families can she invite? What is the limiting factor in the invitation? (HINT: You have to do this one twice and compare answers!!)

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