Students compare three streaming services by writing and evaluating algebraic expressions that model total subscription costs over time. They determine which plan is most cost-effective and justify their choice using math.
In this engaging real-world activity, students explore how algebraic expressions can help them make informed financial decisions. Presented with three different streaming subscription options, students will:
12x + 20)x (months)This worksheet helps students strengthen their understanding of expressions, variables, constants, and coefficients, and see how math applies in everyday decision-making.
Interactive twist: If randomization is enabled, each student receives a unique set of subscription values, ensuring individualized learning and minimizing answer sharing.
Students will write, simplify, and evaluate algebraic expressions to model real-world subscription costs over time. They will use variables to represent time, analyze how setup fees and monthly charges affect total cost, and apply reasoning to compare different pricing models. By the end of the activity, students will be able to make informed decisions by interpreting and using expressions in meaningful financial contexts.
If randomization is enabled, each student will receive different pricing details for the streaming plans—such as setup fees and monthly rates. This ensures that:
This approach supports differentiated learning while reinforcing the real-world application of expressions.
💡 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.
Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions with rational coefficients.
All 7.EE.A.1 activities →Understand that rewriting an expression in different forms in a problem context can shed light on the problem and how the quantities in it are related. *For example, a + 0.05a = 1.05a means that "increase by 5%" is the same as "multiply by 1.05."*
All 7.EE.A.2 activities →Solve multi-step real-life and mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers in any form (whole numbers, fractions, and decimals), using tools strategically. Apply properties of operations to calculate with numbers in any form; convert between forms as appropriate; and assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies. *For example: If a woman making $25 an hour gets a 10% raise, she will make an additional 1/10 of her salary an hour, or $2.50, for a new salary of $27.50. If you want to place a towel bar 9 3/4 inches long in the center of a door that is 27 1/2 inches wide, you will need to place the bar about 9 inches from each edge; this estimate can be used as a check on the exact computation*.
All 7.EE.B.3 activities →Solve word problems leading to equations of the form *px* + *q* = *r* and *p*(*x* + *q*) = *r*, where *p*, *q*, and *r* are specific rational numbers. Solve equations of these forms fluently. Compare an algebraic solution to an arithmetic solution, identifying the sequence of the operations used in each approach. *For example, the perimeter of a rectangle is 54 cm. Its length is 6 cm. What is its width?*
All 7.EE.B.4a activities →
More interactive, auto-graded activities on the same standards and topics.
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