Making Paper

10 min

Narrative

The purpose of this Warm-up is to familiarize students with the energy consumption involved in creating paper, which will be useful when students compare materials for making paper in a later activity. While students may notice and wonder many things about this table, understanding the vocabulary and seeing the difference between each paper source are the important discussion points.

This Warm-up prompts students to make sense of a problem before solving it by familiarizing themselves with a context and the mathematics that might be involved (MP1).

Launch

Arrange students in groups of 2. Display the table for all to see. Ask students to think of at least one thing they notice and at least one thing they wonder. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time, and then 1 minute to discuss with their partner the things they notice and wonder.

Student Task

What do you notice? What do you wonder?

tree fiber recycled material
energy consumption (kWh) 4 2
carbon dioxide (CO2) emission (lb) 9 4

Sample Response

Students may notice:

  • There are two materials used to make paper.
  • Using both materials consumes energy.
  • Using both materials emits carbon dioxide.
  • The numbers associated with tree fiber are greater than the numbers associated with recycled material.

Students may wonder:

  • What kinds of trees are used?
  • What recycled materials are used?
  • Why are the numbers for tree fiber approximately twice the numbers for recycled materials?
  • What does “kWh” mean?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)

Ask students to share the things they noticed and wondered. Record and display their responses without editing or commentary. If possible, record the relevant reasoning on or near the table. Next, ask students, “Is there anything on this list that you are wondering about now?” Encourage students to observe what is on display and to respectfully ask for clarification, point out contradicting information, or voice any disagreement.

Introduce the context to students. Explain that the production of everyday goods has an effect on the environment. One reason is that it requires energy, usually from burning fuel. (Remind students that kilowatt-hours (kWh) is a unit of energy.) Burning fuel in turn produces carbon dioxide, the same gas that we exhale. If present excessively in the atmosphere, it can trap heat and cause temperatures on earth to rise.

Tell students that in this lesson they will solve some problems about the environmental effect of paper production.

Standards
Addressing
  • 6.RP.3·Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
  • 6.RP.A.3·Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.

30 min