schoolhouse_header
schoolhouse_side

Activity 2

Is the Price Right?

Have you noticed how familiar Jamie and Claudia are with the prices of the goods and services they want?  It would have been more difficult for Claudia to plan and budget their income if she didn't know the prices of many of their wants.  How familiar are you with the prices of the goods and services you want?  Would hiding out in a museum in 1999 or 2000 be more or less expensive than in 1967?  Look at the following activity to find out!

Example: Jamie and Claudia walked forty blocks from the train station to the museum to avoid paying 20¢ each for us fare.  How much is the current bus fare for a kid in your home town?  In the St. Louis, Missouri area, the fare in 1999 was 50¢.  If the 1967 fare in St. Louis was also 20¢ and it is now 50¢, by how much as the fare increased in 32 years?  The price has increased by 30¢.  If the fare increased by the same amount over the next 32 years, what will the price of a bus ride for a child be in 2031?  Look at the first example below and make sure you understand how to determine the figures.  Then fill in the missing prices or amounts for the rest of the items listed.

ITEM

1967 PRICE

1999 PRICE

2031 PRICE


Bus fare


$ 0.20


$ 0.50


_________________


Weekly allowance
(12 years old)

 

_________________

 

_________________

 

_________________


Weekly allowance
(9 years old)

 

_________________

 

_________________

 

_________________


1st class postage stamp

 

_________________

 

_________________

 

_________________


Lunch for two at the museum snack bar

 

_________________

 

_________________

 

_________________


New York Times daily newspaper

 

_________________

 

_________________

 

_________________

back to lesson