Component:     To understand basic economic concepts
                        To understand operations of numbers

Objectives:       To solve problems involving fractions and decimals
                        To solve word problems
                        To us technology (calculators and computers) to solve problems

Materials: computers, calculators, newspapers, paper, pencil

Procedure: The students will solve the following problems:

                    1)  John gets $20.00 allowance a week. If he smokes a half  pack of cigarettes      
                         a day (at $4.00 per pack), how much money does he have left at the end of      
                         the week?
                        Answer:  $6.00

                    2) Lisa is in 10th grade and has an after school job in a bakery. She earns
                        $5.25 an hour and works six hours a week. She also smokes a half pack
                        of cigarettes (at $4.00 per pack).  After paying for her cigarettes, how 
                        much money does Lisa have left over at the end of four weeks?
                        Answer: $70.00

                    3) Marty smokes 2 packs of cigarettes a day. At $4.00 a pack what percent
                        of his pay does he spend each month if he earns $70.00 a week at his part-  
                        time job?
                       Answer: $56.00

                    4) Andrea's doctor charges $50.00 a visit. She had to visit him every week for
                        five weeks, due to a chronic cough caused by smoking. She borrowed the 
                        money from her bank who charged her 18% interest. What was her total bill?
                        Answer: $295.00

                    5) Students can practice solving more math word problems at Math Problems        
                        and Math Stories
                     
Evaluation: Students will write all the steps necessary to solve these  problems. ex. First,
                 I figured how much it cost per day. Second, I then calculated how much it cost
                 per week, etc. 
               

Homework: Students will write three problems relating to the cost of smoking. On the 
                   back of the page they will put the answers. When correcting homework, 
                   students will exchange papers and solve each others' problems.

Extended Activities: 

• Look through a newspaper advertising section and find various items that will add up to or equal the amount of money Lisa, and Marty have spent in a year.

• Call or write to a hospital and ask them how much it costs to care for a lung cancer patient for one day. Then figure how much it will cost for a week, a month, etc.  

• Write a non-verbal anti-smoking commercial. Using a digital camera take pictures of students acting out the ad. Show results on the computer.

Website to Visit:
 America Talks Health: Smoking Kids