You can’t have STEM without the M: Math!
We have a range of fun STEM math experiments that will make math easy to understand, if not even a little competitive.
Check out the math experiments below, organized by grade level, and get ready to dive in!
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Cards and Cash
Learn about currency and making change with this fun activity for kids in grade 3 and over.
Materials
- Deck of cards
- Cash – coins and bills (fake or real money)
How to Play
Shuffle a deck of cards. The cards will represent different values of money:
Ace = $0.01, 2 = $0.02, … 10 = $0.10, Jack = $0.25, Queen = $1.00, King = $2.00
Draw 3 cards and add up your total. (Example: If you drew a 5, 10 and Queen, your total would be $1.15)
Now using your cash, make the total for the cards you drew.
STEM Q for You: How many different ways can you come up with creating the total you drew with cash? … For example, if your total was $1.15, you can create this with one loonie ($1), one nickel ($0.05), and one dime ($0.10). You could also create this total with eleven nickels, and one dime, or four quarters, one nickel, and one dime. There are so many possibilities!
After doing step 2 and 3 a few times, start increasing the number of cards you draw for your total!
Bonus Math Challenge: Paying for Your Favourite Treat
Try this! Think about your favourite treat (e.g. ice cream, candy bar, slice of pizza) and how much it costs.
For example:
- 1 scoop of ice cream = $2.19
- Candy bar = $0.89
- Slice of pizza = $3.50
Now if you gave the cashier $5 (two Kings and one Queen), how much change will you get back from the cashier?
Create the change you would get back with the cash you have.
Lucky 100 Math Game
In this activity for kids in Grade 4 and above, you will practice using the four basic math functions, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to reach a target number in this fast, fun card activity! Grab a partner or a small group to play this fun game!
Materials
- Deck of cards
- Paper and pencil (optional)
- Flat surface (e.g. a table)
How to Play
- Go through the deck of cards and remove all face cards (Jack, Queen, King) so that you’re only left with the cards ace through 10 and the two jokers. (Note: The ace is counted as 1 in this activity)
- Shuffle the remaining cards so their order is random! Then deal each player 5 cards face up!
STEM Q for You: Once you’ve removed the face cards, what is the likelihood of being dealt a card that is greater than 5? … It is fairly likely that that the card you would be dealt would be greater than 5! This is because almost half of the potential outcomes are greater than 5! - Use any combination of multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division to get as close to 100 as possible! Try to do the math in your head if you can, but you can use a pencil and paper if you need to! If you get a Joker, you can make it any number from 1-10 that you want.
STEM Q for You: If you were dealt: 10, 1, 5, 10, and 8, what could you do with these numbers to have a total value close to 100? … The first thing that you could do is multiply the two tens together. 10 x 10= 100! Then, add the eight. 100 + 8 = 108! Finally, you could subtract the five and the one. 108 – 5 – 1 = 102!
5. Once you’ve totalled your score, the person that is the closest to 100 wins the round! The first person to win 3 rounds wins the game!
In the Event of a Tie
1. The person that didn’t go over 100 wins
2. The person that used the most operations wins
*If no winner can be decided using the tie breakers, both players get a point!*
Variations of the Lucky 100 Game
Try these variations of this game for even more fun!
- Change the target number! Instead of playing to 100, play to 75, or 50!
- Deal 6 cards instead of 5 for more of a challenge!
- Play with only certain operations (ex. multiplication and addition only)!
- Play that you have to use every operation!
- Include a community card that everyone has to use in their solution!
Sales Tax Scavenger Hunt
Learn about sales tax and how to add tax to the price of an item with this fun scavenger hunt!
Materials
- Something to write with (pencil, pen, etc).
- Paper
- Calculator
How to Play
Step 1: Source Grocery Items from Around Your House
Look around your house for some of the following grocery items:
- Milk
- Loaf of bread
- Aluminum foil
- Bag of chips
- Box of crackers
- Chocolate bar
- Package of paper towel
- Can of vegetables
- Can of pop
- Bag of candy
- Box of sandwich bags (Ziplock)
Step 2: Add Up How Much It Would Cost to Buy Your Groceries
Here are the prices for each item. Add up how much it would cost to buy all of the items you found around your house:
- Milk = $4.30
- Loaf of bread = $2.75
- Aluminum foil = $1.00
- Bag of chips = $2.90
- Box of crackers = $2.50
- Chocolate bar = $1.80
- Package of paper towel = $1.20
- Can of vegetables = $2.10
- 2-litre bottle of pop = $2.00
- Bag of candy = $2.25
- Box of sandwich bags (Ziplock) = $3.90
Step 3: Sort Out Which Items Would Be Taxed
Now you need to find out how much tax will be added to your total!
But first – you need to figure out which of the items you have will be taxed.
Basic goods, such as bread and milk are tax free. Other items that are good for you, such as crackers and canned vegetables are also tax-free.
However, items such as chocolate bars, chips, and candies are taxed.
On your grocery list the tax-free items are:
- milk,
- loaf of bread,
- box of crackers,
- and can of vegetables.
Everything else is taxed with HST.
How to Calculate Sales Tax
The harmonized sales tax (HST) in Canada is 15 percent in all participating provinces, except Ontario, where it is 13 percent.
Turn the % into a Decimal
To find the amount extra added to the price of an item from the taxes, turn the percentage into a decimal. Simply remove the percentage sign and replace with a decimal point.
Now move the decimal over two points to the left!
So, 13% becomes 13. which becomes .13.
Multiply the item price by the decimal tax value.
For example, if you were purchasing the chocolate bar in Ontario, the sales tax would be:
$1.80 x 0.13 = $0.23 sales tax.
Add the sales tax amount to the item price for the total price
Our chocolate bar would be $1.80 (item price) + $0.23 (sales tax) = $2.03.
Step 4: Calculate the Sales Tax on All Taxable Items on Your List
Continue to calculate the sales tax and total amount for each taxable items on your list.
Once you’ve created all of your totals, add up the new total of the list with the taxes added.
Now subtract the original total from the new total, this gives you the amount of taxes that were paid.
Wondering Where Taxes Go?
The money made from taxes goes to the government.
This money is then divided up to pay for different things in cities.
The money could go to pay for places such as the Salvation Army. It can also pay for road repairs or infrastructure such as new buses or changing bus routes!
Fraction War
Grab a partner to play a game of war, with a small twist: Fractions!
In this version, you will use your awesome math skills to compare and convert fractions to win the war!
What is an Improper Fraction?
A fraction where the numerator is larger than the denominator (ex. 5/4).
What Are the 3 Types of Fractions?
Proper fractions, improper fractions and mixed numbers.
What is a Mixed Number?
A fraction which consists of a whole number and a proper fraction (ex. 2 ¼).
Materials
- Deck of cards
- Marker
- Blank Paper
- Scrap paper
- Pencils
- A partner (Two players)
How to Play
Step 1
On the piece of paper, draw two fraction lines with the marker. These lines should be in the middle of the paper with some space in between them. Each player is assigned a fraction line.
Step 2
Remove all the face cards (jack, king, queen) from the deck.
Set the ace card to equal 1.
Step 3
Shuffle the deck and deal the cards to each player equally.
Each player should have their own pile of cards, keep them faced down.
Step 4
Then, from their deck of cards, each player will place a card as the numerator and as the denominator.
Still keep the cards faced down.
Step 5
At the same time, both players turn over their cards and reveal their fraction!
Step 6
The players need to discuss and figure out who has the larger fraction. The player with the larger fraction wins all four cards. Use scrap paper to help you figure this out.
Step 7
If the players turn over equivalent fractions, then there is a fraction war! Each player will then have to place two new cards and whoever has the higher fraction this time will win all eight cards.
What are equivalent fractions?
Equivalent fractions have different numerators and denominators but have the same value. This means that they represent the same part of a whole.
How do you determine equivalent fractions?
You can determine equivalent fractions by finding the common denominator and rewriting each fraction with that denominator.
Remember to multiply the numerator with whatever you multiply the denominator with!
Once the fractions have the same denominator, check to see if the numerators are the same. If they are, then the two fractions are equivalent.
Step 8
Continue the game until all the cards run out. Whoever has the most cards at the end is the winner!
Continue the Fun By Adding More Players to Fraction War
Grab more people and turn this into a multiplayer game!
Work on how to compare a set of fractions.
The player with the largest fraction will still get all the cards.
Probability in Action
Try this interactive activity to compare theoretical and experimental probabilities for certain actions!
We’ll also use the results to explore the difference between probabilities and odds.
Probability is the expected result divided by all results, where as odds are the expected result divided by the unexpected results.
Also, odds are usually represented as a ratio, while probability can be represented either as a ratio or a percent.
So, for flipping a coin and getting heads, the probability and odds look as follows:
Probability of landing on heads = 1:2 OR
Odds of landing head = 1 time landing heads:1 time landing tails OR 1:1
Materials
- Notebook or paper
- Writing utensil
- Deck of playing cards
- Coin
How to Play
Step 1
In your notebook, draw two columns, one for landing on heads, and one for landing on tails. Write the probability and odds of landing heads.
Make a prediction! How many times do you expect the coin to land on either side if you toss a coin eight times?
Step 2
Now actually toss the coin eight times and record whether it landed heads or tails each time.
How does the experimental data compare to what you expected?
Remember: There is only a ½ chance of any one coin flip landing heads, if a coin lands heads, it has no effect on what the next one will be. Remember, it is possible to have a coin land heads eight times in a row!
Step 3
On another page in your notebook, prepare four columns for each of the suits for playing cards (clubs, hearts, diamonds, spades).
Calculate the odds of any random card being a spade, and then the probability of any random card being a diamond (solutions below).
Make a prediction! Using the values you calculated, predict how many of each suit you expect to pick out of twenty cards.
Step 4
Shuffle the deck and pick a card at random, then record whichever suit it is and place it back in the deck.
Repeat this twenty times then compare your experimental values to the expected values again.
Interesting: Although it is not guaranteed to be true (because everything is random), it is more likely for the experimental result to be closer to the expected result for Step 4 (cards) than in Step 2 (coin flip). Why? Because of the number of times each experiment was repeated!
Simply put, the more something is tried, the less likely it is to have a result far outside the expected result.
Answer Key for Probability in Action
Odds of a random car being a spade= 1 spade: 1 heart + 1 club + 1 diamond = 1 spade: 3 not spades OR 1:3
Probability of any card being a diamond: = OR 1:4
Sum One Thousand Dice Game
Play this fun dice game to try and add up to 1000 the fastest! You can either play solo or grab a partner and practice adding up whole numbers with this fun game.
STEM Q for You: What does sum mean? … Sum is short for summation, which in mathematics refers to the total value given by adding numbers or values together.
Materials
- 6 dice (6 sided)
- Paper
- Something to write with (pencil, pen etc).
How to Play
Step 1
On your turn roll all 6 dice and see if you roll:
- 1’s = 10 points each
- 5’s = 50 points each
- Three of the same number = that number x 100 (ex. if you roll three 2’s, you score 200)
If you don’t roll any of these, you don’t score this round.
Write down your score if you got anything and roll again.
Try this! If you do not have six dice, roll a single die six times. Use this as one turn and add up the total after you have rolled six times.
Step 2
If you are playing with someone else, take turns rolling. Whoever gets to 1000 first wins!
If you are playing on your own, try to get 1000 points in the least amount of turns!
Try this! Instead of trying to get 1000 points to win, try increasing the value to make the game more fun!
A Real Number Reshuffle
It is important to recognize rational and irrational numbers as you go about solving each problem that you approach (see below for definitions of real, irrational and rational numbers).
Within this activity, you will explore completing new problems with a sorting system to test your knowledge of these real numbers!
Materials
- Index cards
- Whiteboard, black board, bulletin board, or large sheet of paper
- Something to write with (pen, pencil, etc).
- Shoebox or container
- Magnets, sticky tack, or tape
- Stopwatch
How to Play
Step 1
Copy down the following numbers onto separate index cards:
Step 2
On your whiteboard, blackboard, bulletin board, or large sheet of paper, create two separate sections (either two larger circles or a table).
Label one “Rational Numbers” and the other “Irrational Numbers”.
Step 3
Place all your index cards in a box on the other side of the room, opposite your whiteboard.
Step 4
Let the game begin! Start the timer and grab an index card from the box on the other side of the room.
Run over to the board or paper and sort it as rational or irrational using magnets, sticky tack, or tape to attach it to the board or paper.
Run back and continue sorting until each of the cards are gone!
Step 5
See how many numbers you sorted correctly or incorrectly. Take note on which side you had more trouble in sorting.
Make a prediction! Why do you predict you sorted certain numbers in each category? Can you identify any patterns?
Step 6
Try the activity again but with these new numbers:
Answer Key
What is a real number?
Real numbers are positive or negative, large or small, whole numbers or decimal numbers. Real numbers are not imaginary numbers and include rational and irrational numbers.
What is a rational number?
A rational number is a real number that can be in the form p/q where p and q are integers and q is not equal to zero.
What is an irrational number?
An irrational number is a real number that can NOT be made by dividing two integers. Therefore, these numbers cannot be represented as ratios or fractions.
