This activity is designed to introduce middle school students to the concept of simple interest and its application in financial planning. Through this activity, students will learn how percentages and the simple interest formula can help them make informed decisions about saving and investing.
During the activity, students will explore a scenario where they want to save for the down payment for their dream house. They will learn how to calculate simple interest by applying the formula: Simple Interest = Principal * Rate * Time. Students will also encounter variations of the formula, such as finding the principal or determining the required interest rate when the target amount is given.
The activity encourages students to apply their knowledge of percentages, decimal operations, and problem-solving skills
The learning objectives are:
Common Core: MATH
Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems. Examples: simple interest, tax, markups and markdowns, gratuities and commissions, fees, percent increase and decrease, percent error.
Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional relationships represented in different ways. For example, compare a distance-time graph to a distance-time equation to determine which of two moving objects has greater speed.
Use similar triangles to explain why the slope m is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line in the coordinate plane; derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation *y* = *mx* + *b* for a line intercepting the vertical axis at *b*.
Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales.
Solve systems of linear equations exactly and approximately (e.g., with graphs), focusing on pairs of linear equations in two variables.
Choose and produce an equivalent form of an expression to reveal and explain properties of the quantity represented by the expression.