The Field Trip Budget Decision
A Grade 5 class of 28 students and 3 adults is planning a museum trip. The bus costs a flat $180. Museum entry is $6 per student and $9 per adult. The class has raised $420. A parent offers to donate $50 only if the class can show it will not run out of money. One student suggests skipping the bus and walking, but the museum is 6 km away and the trip must finish in 3 hours including travel. Another suggests only 25 students attend to save money.
1. Determine the total cost of the trip as planned and whether the class can afford it with the $420 raised. Show your reasoning step by step.
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Student entry: 28 × $6 = $168. Adult entry: 3 × $9 = $27. Entry total: $168 + $27 = $195. Add the bus: $195 + $180 = $375. The class has raised $420, so $420 − $375 = $45 remains. The trip is affordable as planned. Now test the parent's condition: with the $50 donation, funds become $470, and $470 − $375 = $95 remains. The class can clearly show it will not run out of money, so the donation condition is met. Answer: total cost $375, affordable, with $45 left before the donation.
2. Evaluate the suggestion to bring only 25 students. Does it help, and what is the trade-off? Use numbers.
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With 25 students: entry is 25 × $6 = $150, plus adults $27 = $177, plus bus $180 = $357. That saves $375 − $357 = $18 compared with 28 students, because each student costs $6 and 3 fewer students saves 3 × $6 = $18. But the bus cost does not change, so the saving is small, and 3 students miss the trip. Since the full group is already affordable with $45 to spare, dropping students is unnecessary. The trade-off is losing learning opportunity for an $18 saving the class does not need. A better response is to keep all 28 students and use the surplus or donation for contingency.
3. Assess the walking suggestion using the time constraint, assuming a walking speed of about 4 km per hour.
Read the worked answer
Walking 6 km at 4 km/h takes 6 ÷ 4 = 1.5 hours each way, so 3 hours of travel alone. The trip must finish in 3 hours including travel, leaving no time for the museum. Even at a faster 5 km/h, each way is 6 ÷ 5 = 1.2 hours, or 2.4 hours round trip, leaving only 0.6 hours (36 minutes) at the museum. Walking is not feasible. The bus is the practical choice; the cost is already covered within the $420 budget, so the walking idea solves a money problem the class does not actually have while creating a time problem it cannot solve.