It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t like French fries. Who doesn’t want to munch on a hot, crispy, salty stick of potato? But not all fries are equal: there’s always a best – or biggest – French fry out there. The longest fry in the world was a curly fry that stretched 34 inches! That should be enough for dinner.
Wee ones: If you slice through a potato and look at the flat side you cut, what shape do you see?
Little kids: If you eat 3 fries with ketchup and 6 without, how many fries do you eat? Bonus: If you dip your 2nd French fry in ketchup, then your 5th, then your 8th…which one do you dip next to continue the pattern?
Big kids: If you’re 3 1/2 feet tall, how much taller than that 34-inch French fry are you? (Reminder: 1 foot has 12 inches.) Bonus: You can cut about 25 fries from 1 potato. How many potatoes do you need to make 100 fries?
The sky’s the limit: If 8 potatoes make 200 fries, and 12 potatoes make 300 fries, and 20 potatoes make 500 fries…what’s the pattern, and how many fries do 44 potatoes make?
Answers:
Wee ones: An oval, or possibly a circle.
Little kids: 9 fries. Bonus: Your 11th fry.
Big kids: 8 inches taller, because you are 3 x 12 + 1/2 x 12 = 36 + 6 = 42 inches tall. Bonus: 4 potatoes.
The sky’s the limit: 1,100 fries. You take the number of potatoes, divide by 4 and tack on 2 zeros. Why? Because multiplying by 25 is like multiplying by 100 and then taking 1/4, since 25 is 1/4 of 100.
