McGraw-Hill Mathematics: Grade 5, Chapter 6

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Furniture Maker

Double Duty File Chest
http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/homei/0002HIWSAP.html

You're the carpenter! Measure the pieces of wood needed to construct the file chest.

• Read the first paragraph of information. Then look at the photos as you scroll down the page.
• Near the bottom of the page, click the blue diagram of the file chest. Enlarge the window with the diagram.
• Study the diagram. Use the scroll bars to move around.
• Solve the problems below.
• Write your answers in simplest form. Write each measurement in inches.

1. Scroll down to the bottom left corner. Look at the Front/Back Panel.
   
   You are making a Front Panel and a Back Panel for the file chest. Both panels are 3/4 inches thick, 11 1/2 inches wide, and 32 3/4 inches long. You want to cut out the 2 panels from a wooden board that is 3/4 inches thick, 11 1/2 inches wide, and 70 inches long. Is this board long enough? If so, how long is the remaining board after you cut out the 2 panels?
   
                                                       
   
   
2. Look at the Bottom piece.
   
   You make 1 Bottom piece. The piece is 33 3/4 inches long. On one side, you cut 1 1/8-inch by 1 1/8 inch notches into each of the 2 corners on that side, reducing the length of the side. What is the length of this side after the notches are cut out?
   
                                                       
   
   
3. Look at Detail 3, in the top right corner of the diagram.
   
   You are going to make this piece next. You need to choose a board that is longer than the longest side of this piece. You have three boards with lengths of 13 inches, 15 inches, and 17 inches. Which board will allow you to cut out the piece, with the least amount of wood left over? (Note: the far right portion of the longest side of the piece is the same length as the far left portion.)
   
                                                       
   
   
4. Scroll down and look at the Side Panel.
   
   You are making 2 Side Panels. You choose a board that is 3/4 inches thick, 11 1/2 inches wide, and 40 inches long. Is this board long enough? If so, how long is the remaining board? If not, how much longer does the board need to be?
   
                                                       
   
   
5. Scroll to the bottom left corner. Look at the Leg.
   
   You are making 2 of the legs. Each leg will be 1 3/4 inches thick, 1 3/4 inches wide, and 21 1/4 inches long. You have a piece of wood that is 1 3/4 inches thick, 1 3/4 inches wide, and 48 inches long. Is this board long enough? If so, how long is the remaining board? If not, how much longer does the board need to be?
   
                                                       
   
   

Math at Home

Today I explored a Web site featuring a builder's plans for making a wooden chest. I pretended to be a carpenter, and added and subtracted mixed numbers to solve problems about the heights and lengths of the pieces used to make the chest. For example, I figured out that I could use a 70-inch-long wooden board of sufficient thickness and width to cut out a Front Panel and a Back Panel for the chest, because the two panels together measure               inches in length, which is               than the length of the board.

You can find out more about this topic by asking your teacher or parents to show you other Web sites.