Saint Patrick’s Day Dinner

Solving Real Problems

Our Mission• Louie the Leprachan has presented us with

the task of preparing and serving a St. Patrick’s Day Dinner! However, certain problems have come up that must be solved before guests come to the dinner.

• Each slide has a different problem we must solve in order to prepare the dinner.

• Solving each problem will ensure that we are ready for Valentines Day!

Problem One: The Invitation• Design an appropriately-themed

invitation to our St. Patrick’s Day dinner. Make sure to include the when, where, and time.

• Next, consider the people you will be inviting to share this feast.

• Come up with a guest list of 2 – 16 people who have accepted your invitation. (Don’t forget to include yourself!) This guest list will affect the problems we will encounter.

Problem Two: Cooking Utensils

Uh, oh! While prepping your kitchen, you realized a few important tools were missing. Conduct an Internet-based search to find the cheapest version of each item:– KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer

– 5-quart pot

– Colander

– Spaghetti Server

(The last 3 tools can be

any brand.)

Use these retailer links to find these products being sold:

• Bed, Bath, and Beyond: www.bedbathandbeyond.com• Target: www.target.com• Amazon: www.amazon.com• Kohl’s: www.kohls.com

Problem Three: Shopping for Spaghetti Sauce

You notice that two rival grocery stores have a sale on spaghetti sauce this week. Determine which is the better buy for our dinner, and why. Plan for 1.5 ounces of sauce per guest.

Grocery Store A135 oz. Jar of Ragu Sauce

Originally $6.99SALE: Buy One

get One for $0.99

Grocery Store B26 oz. Jar of Prego Sauce

Originally $1.79SALE: Take 30% OFF when you

buy TWO!

Problem Four: Hamburger

• We will be adding ground beef to our spaghetti sauce.

• Consider the following before choosing from the following packages of ground beef (Make sure you can justify your purchase!).

• Rule of thumb is 5 oz. – 7 oz. of ground beef per guest.

www.thatmathlady.com © 2012

Package of Ground Beef

Price

1 lb. $3.10

3 lbs. $9.54

5 lbs. $16.00

10 lbs. $29.60

Problem Five: How much spaghetti do we need?

• You need to purchase enough spaghetti noodles for your guests.

• 8 oz. uncooked long pasta = 1 1/2-inch diameter bunch = 4 cups cooked

• 1 cup of cooked noodles = 1 serving

• How many ounces of pasta

will you need for the dinner?

Problem Six: Following the Recipe

• One of the cheesecake recipes calls for the ingredients to make 6 servings.– 32 ounces of cream cheese– 1 ½ cups chocolate chips– 14 ounces of milk– 2 eggs– 1 Tsp vanilla– 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs– ½ cup butter melted

• How much of each ingredient will you need to make enough of this cheesecake for 4 guests.

www.thatmathlady.com © 2012

Problem Seven: Desserts• You made three types of

cheesecakes for your guests. • Based on the number of guests

that you have invited, how can you equally divide the cakes so that the following statements are true? – Each guest can have 2 slices (one

of the same or one of two different varieties).

– There is less than ⅔ of the pies remaining after each person has at least 1 piece.

• You may consider creating a diagram to illustrate your solutions.

Will the dinner be a success?