The second year students in Computer Salad 2 just finished up their spreadsheets for our Popcorn Comparison. We brought in three boxes of microwave popcorn from three different companies, filled out a data sheet with prices, number of packages per box and ounces in each bag. Then we popped one bag of each, measured the amount of popped corn in cups, and worked out how to calculate how much each brand cost per ounce of popped popcorn. Whew! It takes a lot of thinking, problem solving and patience to input all the data and the formulas, but then the spreadsheet does all the calculating for us. Once that was done, we had fun making our spreadsheets look awesome–and even included a graph of the results.

This is a favorite project with our kids over the years, and it isn’t just because they get to eat the data once we’re done collecting it! It’s real world math that stretches their minds and their math thinking while still teaching some rocking computer skills.

Here’s an example of their work. Enjoy!