NASA Quest presents...

 

"Merry Math"

featuring

Astro Claus and Dr. Joy

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Overview / Schedule / Contest Questions / Curriculum Supplements
Educational Objectives and Standards

Schedule

Submit your Merry Math answers, stumpers, and Astrosleigh contest entries.

Submit your Merry Math answers and stumpers to:
Astroclaus Contest Answers

Send your Astrosleigh entries to:
astroclaus@quest.arc.nasa.gov

December 13, 2001

Friday, December 14, 2001

December 17 - 28, 2001

Registration

No prior registration is required to enter the contest and submit questions, or for the interactive webcast.

Attending the Webcast

Please follow the link for attending webcasts. If you have not participated in a Quest Webcast, you will need to review the procedures and download RealPlayer. Instructions and links are provided below.

How To Participate in a Webcast

View the Archive

Follow Up

All contents and information from this event will be archived the day following the event. The archives are available from the Quest Archives page and on this page. If you cannot watch the live webcast, the archive can be used for a fun and educational activity for children and students with or without adult supervision. This may be just what you need in order to steal a little extra time for yourself! Once students have answered the Merry Math questions, they can view the archived webcast which reviews the math concepts and provides the correct answers.

Contest Questions

Grade 1

1a. Astroclaus eats 3 dozen cookies during his flight. He has 7 skydeer and they each eat 1 dozen cookies during their flight. How many dozens of cookies does Dr. Joy need to bake for their flight? (Use tally marks to arrive at your answer)

1b. Astroclaus stops at every planet on his flight. He spends 3 hours at each planet. How many total hours does he spend on the planets? (Use tally marks to arrive at your answer) (Hint: There are 9 planets)

1c. Astroclaus just remembered he has to make a detour and stop off at the International Space Station to deliver goodies to the astronauts on board. The astronauts all want M & M's because they are so fun to eat in microgravity. There are 3 astronauts and they would like 3 bags each. How many bags of M & M's does Astroclaus need for the crew? (Draw a picture to help you solve the problem.)

Grade 2

2a. Astroclaus drinks 2 gallons of hot chocolate during his intergalactic mission. Dr. Joy decides she'd better switch measurements to the metric system this year, so she gives him 3 litres of hot chocolate. Does he have more or less hot chocolate this year?

2b. Dr. Joy has packed 3 dozen cookies for Astroclaus as snacks for his flight. This year there is a lot of turbulence and he doesn't feel like eating so much. He comes back with 1 dozen uneaten cookies. If Dr. Joy gives each of the 7 skydeer 1 cookie, how many does she have left for herself?

2c. It takes 90 minutes for the space shuttle to circle the earth. It takes Astroclaus 1 hour to circle Mars. Who is quicker with their spacecraft around the planet, the Space Shuttle circling Earth or Astroclaus circling Mars? Explain your answer.

Grade 3

3a. The shuttle can circle the earth in 90 minutes. It takes Astroclaus 24 hours to pack up his sleigh before his journey. Estimate how many times the shuttle can circle the earth while Astroclaus is packing.

3b. The STS-108 crew has four astronauts plus three new ISS crew members. They each eat 1 pound of food per day and their mission to the ISS takes 3 days. How many pounds of food does the entire crew need before arriving at the ISS?

3c. The new shuttle cockpit window is 36 centimeters in length and for the first time in shuttle history, astronauts can now have a clear view of their surroundings during a mission. There are 3 astronauts living on the ISS. Astroclaus has recently decided to install a space shield on his sleigh to keep flying space debris out of his face. He wants his space shield to be twice as long as the shuttle window. What information given in the problem is not necessary to solve how long in centimeters the spaceshield will be?

Grade 4

4a. The Shuttle can circle the earth in 90 minutes. Astroclaus' new starpowered sleigh can circle the earth in 1 hour. If the shuttle and Astroclaus had a race that went 5 times around the earth, how much faster would Astroclaus be than the shuttle?

4b. Astroclaus weighs 250 pounds. Each of his 7 spacedeer weigh 40 pounds. Dr. Joy weighs 120 pounds. The Astrosleigh weighs 400 pounds. What information is not necessary to help you solve the problem of how much Astroclaus, his spacedeer and his sleigh weigh altogether?

4c. It takes Expedition One Crew 36 hours to unload and transfer three tons of food, clothing, hardware and supplies from a supply ship that is docked to the ISS. It takes Astroclaus 24 hours to unload one ton of goodies from his Astrosleigh. Who can unload more in a 12 hour period?

Grade 5

5a. Astroclaus if halfway through his mission so half of his goodies have been distributed when a meteor strikes his Astrosleigh. The accident causes him to lose half of his remaining goodies. What percentage of goodies does he have now?

5b. The shuttle lifts off at 17,500 mph. If the shuttle lifts up at a straight angle exactly perpendicular to the earth, it takes 8 1/2 minutes to reach its orbiting height above the earth. Astroclaus lifts off at 1/2 the speed of the shuttle. so it takes him twice as long to reach orbiting height above the earth. What is the speed and length of time it takes Astroclaus to lift off and reach orbit?

5c. The intergalactic kids send their letters to Astroclaus via email. He has just received a last second request in the midst of his deliveries. This little spacebaby has been extremely good this year and Astroclaus wants to honor his wish. He is on a tight schedule and can only spare 5 minutes. It takes Astroclaus 3 seconds to send this request on to Dr. Joy. Dr. Joy takes 1 minutes to read it and 2 seconds to forward it on to the Astroelves. The Astroelves take 3 minutes to design and create this special toy, then they send a response back to Dr. Joy that takes 2 seconds letting her know that it is ready. Dr. Joy immediately forwards it on to Astroclaus which takes 3 more seconds. She then sends out their swiftest spacedeer, Pluton, to deliver the toy to Astroclaus. This takes 1/2 minute. Will the toy arrive to Astroclaus before his spare 5 minutes are up?

All answers should include the question number you are answering along with your first name OR your teacher's name, OR your school.

Submit your Merry Math answers and stumpers to: Astroclaus Contest Answers

Astrosleigh Contest

All Grade Levels

Astroclaus would likes a newly engineered sleigh since he has read all about NASA's emerging technologies with space exploration. Write a descriptive paragraph which explains what this sleigh would look like, and how it would function and fly. Be sure to include the forces of lift, drag, thrust, and gravity. The astroelves will choose their favorite one and Astroclaus will read it during the webcast. This good boy or girl will also win an autographed photograph of Astroclaus and Dr. Joy and surprise NASA gifts from Astroclaus' goody bag! You may send this in paragraph form or a jpeg.

Send your Astrosleigh entries to: astroclaus@quest.arc.nasa.gov