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Desk Duck Travels to India!

 

 

For lunch on our first day in India, I had a dosa which cost 39 rupees and my mom got a mini meal which cost 98 rupees. If 45 rupees equal around 1 U.S. dollar, then how much did our meals cost?

 

On our day in Delhi we took a Taxi to the Taj Mahal. It took us 5 hours to get there and 4 hours 30 minutes to get back. The driver cost us 7,000 rupees which equals how many U.S. dollars? When we arrived they had closed for the day so we went on the back side of the Taj Mahal across the Yumana river to see it. Then we went to the hotel and decided to rush over in the morning. One ticket for someone outside India cost 750 rupees to go inside the Taj Mahal, and one ticket for someone living in India cost 20 rupees. How much does that cost in U.S. dollars?




It took us 45 minutes to get in but the wait was worth it. The sight was amazing there were so many details such as carvings, embroidering and gems, plus it was all made out of white marble. Unfortunately we had to leave early to catch our plane to Combitore.

 

On our last day, our flight from Chennia to Chicago left at 4:30am on the 31st of December and arrived at 4pm on the 31st of December. The time difference from the U.S. to India is 11 ½ hours. So how long was the flight?

The Desk Duck Travels to Florida

 


Hey kids! Check me out! I spent my Thanksgiving break having fun at Universal Studios with Mr. Johnson from West. Pretty cool huh?

I spent some time visiting with Harry Potter. Here are some fun facts about the Harry Potter books and movies:

Golgomath (one of the largest giants in the Potter universe) may be a play on the word “googol,” a math term for a one with a hundred zeros after it—in other words, one of the largest numbers known.

So many fans visit King’s Cross station to take pictures of platforms 9 and 10 that the station management erected a sign that says “Platform 9 ¾” which, in the Potter books, is invisible to Muggles but acts as a gateway for witches and wizards.

Harry’s birthday is July 31, 1980. Rowling’s birthday is also July 31—but in 1966.

Rowling’s books were the first children’s books included on the New York Bestseller list since E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web in 1952.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on July 21, 2007, and sold 11 million copies on the first day of its release, breaking Rowling's earlier records for the fastest selling book of all time.

The actress who played Moaning Myrtle is actually 37 years old and is the oldest actress to portray a Hogwarts student.

So here is the math question:

How many pages are in all of the Harry Potter books? If I read 105 pages a day, how long would it take me to finish the entire series from start to finish? I can't wait to hear back from you!

Check out this website to learn more about some of the things I did on my trip. http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

Desk Duck Visits ALASKA!!

 

Our first full day in Alaska, duck, me and my parents went In a small airplane. The little plane only held 6 people including the pilot. Everyone got a window seat and a head set to talk and hear other people. We flew over Cook Inlet named after Captain Cook, then we flew over a little bit of flat land and we saw 3 moose that were so big we could see them from 700 feet in the air. The average speed of the plane was 110 knots (a knot is a way to measure the speed of a boat or plane). The pilot decided to land on a little lake in the middle of no where. It was so cool we found some real cool bear tracks. Then we were of back in the air with an altitude of 700 feet. As soon as I notice the pilot is about to land I said to myself “wow that was beautiful”.

The second day in Alaska we were off to Seward on our way to catch a boat to explore Resurrection Bay. Once we got on the boat I noticed our captain had two hooks for hands, a real Captain Hook. He told us that the water was 1000 feet deep and we were going 18.8 knots. We saw hairy legged mountain goats, harbor seals, sea otters, porpoise, and sea lions and it was spectacular.

The average day temperature was 32 degrease Fahrenheit in Alaska or 0 Celsius. There was no snow in Anchorage but there was a lot on the mountains. I wore shorts all the time but most people did not because it is 32 degrease Fahrenheit but it feels like 20 degrease Fahrenheit.

If 3 feet is a meter then how many meters is in 1000 feet, the depth of Resurrection Bay?

How many meters high was the plane that was 700 feet in the air?

If one knot is 1.15 miles per hour, then how fast did we go on the plane that went 110 knots?

How fast did we go on the boat that went 18.8 knots?

Is 5 degrees Celsius colder or hotter than 30 degrees Fareinheight?

Sam's Trip to Germany

 

The Euro is the money German people (and most Europe countries) use. One "euro" is equal to $1.29 of our (U.S.) money. So, dad says the dollar is "weak" in Europe right now. It is expensive for us if we are in their country. If someone from Europe comes to Missouri, it is cheap for them. Their money goes "far" in the U.S.

The places where we have eaten have been pretty cool. They don't have Panera or Olive Garden or Chili's like we do. They have all these cafe's and one of a kind places to eat. Dad calls them hole in the walls. But the food is really good. They mostly eat meat and potatoes, but it is all cooked different and tastes really good. I like the hot chocolate and coffee over here. I actually like all the food over here. They have amazing breakfasts and dinners over here.

It was kind of chilly (about 50 degrees), so we got a coffee and a hot chocolate tonight. It cost 5.80 euros. How much did this cost in our dollars? If the coffee was $3.25 in U.S. money, how much was the hot chocolate in Euros? I got a schnitzel for dinner (pork, cabbage, potatoes). I also got strudel, which is German for apple pie. I also got water with gas, or "water with bubbles" as they call it (THAT is different and takes some getting used to!), but they gave me that for free. Kind of getting used to it. Think of coke without any sugar or without any color or flavor ‑ just water that is carbonated.

Dinner was 14 euros, and the strudel was $2.25 in U.S. dollars. How much was my whole meal in euros? How much in U.S. dollars?

Ok, we went into a castle in Heidelberg that was built in the 1600's. It was HUGE! I mean, really, really HUGE! And really old and beautiful. It had the biggest wine barrel in Germany and also in the world ‑ it was so big, it had a dance floor on top of it! It cost six euros for my dad to get in, and four euros for me. How much was my ticket in U.S. dollars? How much was my dad's in U.S. dollars?

I played a game called "boulle" with these older guys. They didn't charge me any money to play. It is a throwing game, and you play it with these really heavy metal balls. You get three of them, and you have to toss them close to a small marker ball. It has a special floor, and is popular outdoor game in Germany. Right by where we were playing, there were boat races (crew) for Muenster College, which was the local university. There were a lot of people there, and the college kids were drinking a lot and really loud. Anyway, how much did my ticket cost to play in euros?

Desk Duck Travels to GERMANY!!

Hey kids, it's my first time in Europe!! I'm going with a student to Germany tomorrow. I'm so excited about this trip. I'm a little nervous about the plane ride (I've heard it take 17 hours to get to where we are going!) Can you research how far Columbia, MO is from Heidelberg, Germany and help figure out how many miles per hour I will be traveling? I will update you on my travels as soon as possible.

 

The math problem above was taken from a Chinese math book. One of the students on team 63 has re-written the problem in English. Feel free to post a comment with your solution! Happy solving!