Monday, March 31, 2008

Jelly Bean Math


The favorite candy of the 40th President of the United State of America, Ronald Reagan, was jelly beans! He kept a glass jar of jelly beans on his desk to serve to guests and staff.

  • Ronald Reagan ate one jelly bean on January 20, 1981 (his first day in office) and each day after that, he ate double the number of jelly beans he had eaten the day before, how many jelly beans would he have eaten by the end of the month?
  • How many jelly beans would he have eaten after one month in office?
  • What would the monthly cost of these jelly beans be?
  • What was Ronald Reagan’s favorite flavor of jelly bean?
  • How many popcorn jelly beans would Ronald Regan be likely to have eaten by day 22?
  • Write an algebraic expression for the number of jelly beans Ronald Reagan would have eaten by his nth day in office.