Fractions: Computing the Total Purchase Cost
In this interactive, real-world budgeting worksheet, 7th grade students visit a virtual supermarket with a $100 budget to purchase a list of grocery items. Using a cost card that lists realistic prices per unit (e.g., per pound, gallon, or piece), students must calculate the total cost of each item based on quantity, sum the total, and determine whether they can afford all items — or if they’ll need extra funds.
This activity supports Common Core Math Standards 7.RP.A.1, 7.RP.A.2, and 7.EE.B.3 by engaging students in:
- Unit rate calculations involving decimals
- Real-life proportional reasoning
- Multi-step problem solving with money
- Budget analysis based on cumulative totals
- Bar graph interpretation to identify the most expensive item
The worksheet is auto-graded, giving instant feedback on cost calculations and encouraging self-correction. A final extension question asks students to analyze a bar graph comparing item costs.
Key Features:
- 🧮 Realistic unit rates and quantities
- 💰 Budget decision-making scenario
- 🔄 Auto-graded responses for immediate feedback
- 📊 Bar graph data interpretation
- ✍️ Great for classwork, homework, or financial literacy warm-ups
Learning Objective
Students will learn about using multiplication and subtraction in a real life scenario. The activity will ensure that students have mastered in the multiplication and subtraction operations and knows when to use them.
Randomization Available
If randomization is enabled, each student will receive:
- A unique set of quantities to purchase for each grocery item
- A different cost card with varied unit prices across pounds, gallons, and pieces
This ensures every student works on a personalized problem set, promoting independent thinking and preventing copying of answers.
💡 Tip: When assigning this activity to your classroom, you can optionally enable randomization to give each student a unique version of the problems. When you re-assign the same worksheet, each student will get a new set of questions, helping them master the content through repeated practice.
