American Airline Fares Activity

Properties and Order of Operations Using Airline Fares

SUBJECT:

Math and Social Studies

GRADE LEVEL:

7th and 8th

OBJECTIVES:

1. To demonstrate different problem solving skills involving data gathering and interpretation.


2. To provide an itinerary on American Airlines through the Internet, and collect fare prices of a particular input.


3. Work in pairs to submit information onto the Internet.


4. Using the data, students will be given different ways to add, subtract, and multiply the fare prices which will involve Properties and Order of Operations.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:

• Computer


• Access to the Internet


• Order of Operations Notes


• Properties of Operations Notes


• Paper and pencil

ACTIVITIES:

1. Students pair together to "search" American Airlines homepage first.
   



2. Then, students choose Fare Quotes to input itinerary onto the Internet.



3. Next, put this itinerary in "Origin" - Dallas/Fort Worth, TX - DFW, "Destination" - Honolulu, Oahu, HI - HNL, and "Departure Date" - 310896 for August 30, 1996. Click on "Submit".



4. A new screen will appear listing the various quotes according to how many days in advance the ticket is purchased. Also, listed is one way prices then you must multiply by 2 for round trip ticket price. Students will need to write down the quotes of the various prices.



5. Using the prices, students need to use these quotes of the ticket prices and then answer the questions using their knowledge of Properties and Order of Operations.
   Ex. How much would it cost a family of four to travel Frist Class round trip to Honolulu? $1,667 x 2 x 4 = $13,336
   Ex. How much could they save if they went Coach? $13,336 - ($805 x 2 x 4) = $6,896

FOLLOW-UP:

Students can change the "Departure Date" of the destination and compare the prices. You can also change the "Origin" to match where the students live. There are also many ways to change the fare prices when viewing the screen after "Submit" This will give students more ways to use properties and order of properties in real life. Make sure students write down each number and step to emphasize the properties. For more data to compare and use with operations, choose a different airline at DFW - Airlines. Lastly, to integrate social studies into this lesson have the students determine the miles using their map skills. Possibly make a bulletin board marking destinations from the Internet.