CONSUMER MATH I

Overview

Consumer Mathematics will apply math and problem-solving skills to everyday, real-world scenarios involving money. Students will use math and algebra operations to understand how money is earned, spent, and saved. Students will discover valuable skills to make themselves savvy and conscientious consumers in today’s global market.

Students will travel through a life span and explore how money can shape their life. They will learn about earning, saving, and spending so that they can make their money work for them! They will explore different career paths and education options. They will make sense of taxes, insurance, and income. They will buy their first car, rent an apartment, or get a mortgage. They will see how smart shopping at the grocery store and sticking to a budget can lead to a dream vacation! Students will learn to wisely manage money all the way through their retirement years.

Major Topics and Concepts

Teenage Years

In this module, you will interact with money as a teenage earner and consumer. You can expect to learn how to:

create and solve expressions and equations related to income
apply percent calculations to situations involving saving and spending money
calculate costs related to transportation
use math practices and skills to make informed consumer decisions

Life After High School

In this module, you will interact with money in your life after high school as an earner and consumer. You can expect to learn how to:

create and solve expressions and equations related to income
apply percent calculations to situations involving borrowing and paying back student loans and credit cards
calculate costs related to earning potential, education, and credit
use math practices and skills to make informed consumer decisions

Cost Of Living

In this module, you will interact with money as a young adult earner and consumer. You can expect to learn how to:

create and solve expressions, equations, and inequalities related to living on your own
apply percent calculations, pie graphs, and bar graphs to situations involving saving and spending money
calculate costs related to monthly expenses
use unit rates, proportions, math practices, and skills to make informed consumer decisions
create and solve equations to help you save your money effectively

Home Sweet Home

In this module, you will interact with money as an adult earner and consumer. You can expect to learn how to:

create and solve expressions and equations related to credit score
apply math practices, use graphs, and use equations to determine if renting or buying property is best for you
calculate costs related to mortgage loans
use geometric formulas to determine costs of materials
use math practices and skills to make informed consumer decisions

Big Spending

In this module, you will interact with money as an adult earner and consumer. You can expect to learn how to:

create and solve expressions and equations related to starting and growing your own business
analyze quadratic function graphs and apply percent calculations to situations involving growing your own business
create and solve proportions related to temperature, currency, and measurement conversions
use probability to determine the chances of winning
create and solve equations and expressions to recognize and avoid financial pitfalls
use unit rates, proportions, math practices, and skills to make informed consumer decisions

Retirement

In this module, you will interact with money as a retired earner and consumer. You can expect to learn how to:

create and solve expressions and equations to determine taxable income
apply formulas to calculate and understand tax rates
create and solve expressions and equations to determine total retirement income and income from a pension and Social Security
calculate costs related to monthly expenses in retirement, including total medical costs
write linear functions that model the line of best fit on a scatterplot to better understand inflation
create and solve systems of equations related to savings, distance, and cost comparisons