Fifth Grade Math : Olympiad Contest This Week and More Volume

Excitement is brewing in fifth grade (and maybe some nerves). Later this  week we will be having our first Olympiad contest.  If your child is nervous, please try to reassure them that it is only a contest.  The only expectation is that they try their best.  I have reminded them numerous times that there are times when students get only one question correct on an Olympiad, and sometimes no questions correct.  It is okay. The goal is to improve our persistence and our problem solving skills, and to try to have fun with some challenging math!

We have been continuing to explore volume concepts and we’ve been exploring questions such as, “How many box designs are there that can fit 24 bricks?” and “What happens to the total volume when we change the dimensions?”  Most students were surprised to learn that when you double all the dimensions of a rectangular solid, the total volume is multiplied by 8 (or octupled, which they all loved saying).  Here is some student work reflecting some of these investigations.

As we continue with volume this week, we will be exploring finding the volume of composite figures.  This is when we have a figure made up of two rectangular prisms combined.  Here are some examples:

Our volume test will most likely be early next week.  Have a great week!