In reeeeeally cold places, people sometimes live in igloos, small homes built of blocks of ice and snow. Well, one couple made their own multicolored igloo. They filled box-shaped milk cartons with water mixed with food coloring, then froze them into beautiful ice blocks. They packed the blocks using snow to hold them, and here’s the result, with a light inside to show off the amazing colors. You can build one too, if you’re willing to drink all that milk!
Wee ones: If the couple used blue, red, green, orange, and yellow blocks, how many colors does the igloo have?
Little kids: If they froze 60 blocks in sets of 10, what numbers would they have said to count them up by 10s? Bonus: If 10 of those blocks were pink, how many blocks were other colors?
Big kids: If it took 5 ½ hours for the water to freeze through and the first carton was filled at 10:30 am, at what time was the first block ready for building? Bonus: If the igloo builders saved 50 cartons of milk, and each carton held 8 cups, how many cups of milk did they drink to make this igloo?
The sky’s the limit: If in the first 3 layers each layer has 4 more blocks than the one above it, and they use 600 blocks total, how many blocks are in the top layer?
Answers:
Wee ones: 5 colors.
Little kids: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60. Bonus: 50 non-pink blocks.
Big kids: At 4 pm. Bonus: 400 cups.
The sky’s the limit: 196 blocks. If all three layers were equal, they’d each use 200 blocks. If you shift 4 blocks from the top layer to the bottom layer, they will still add up to 600 and each layer will be 4 blocks different in number. The top will now have 196, and the bottom layer will have 204.
