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(Old) Pizza Pi

Should you ever order a personal-sized pizza from Pizza Hut?

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(Old) Pizza Pi

Should you ever order a personal-sized pizza from Pizza Hut?

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A newer, better version of this lesson is available! Explore all updated lessons here, or read more about the updates in Our Community.

Pizza_Pi_-_Teacher_Guide.pdf
Pizza_Pi_-_Student_Handout.pdf
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2023-2024 Versions

In the fall of 2024, Citizen Math released updated versions of every lesson in our library, plus a few new ones! We know you may have already prepped an earlier version or planned a repeat of last year, so we're continuing to make these earlier versions available through Thursday December 5, 2024.

You can find the new lessons through the regular search, and we hope you love them as much as we do. You can read more about these updates in Our Community.

Click here for the updated version of this lesson!

Should you ever order a personal-sized pizza from Pizza Hut? Pizza Hut pizzas come in large, medium, and personal. While the smallest size is the least expensive, it costs the most per square inch and is over half crust!

In this lesson, students calculate circle areas to compare the unit costs of different sized pizzas, find the percent of pizza that is tasty inside vs. crust, and debate whether it’s ever a good idea to order a personal-sized pizza from Pizza Hut.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • If crust thickness doesn’t change (and it usually doesn’t), then as a pizza shrinks, more and more of the total area is taken up by crust.
  • Determining the best deal isn’t just about how much you get, it’s also about how much of it you want.
  • Personal pan pizzas are mostly crust.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Calculate the area of a circle
  • Use geometric models to solve real-world problems
  • Use unit rates or proportional reasoning to determine the best deal
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.
Grade 7
Measuring Circles
Grade 7
Measuring Circles
Content Standards
Mathematical Practices

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Great anytime, including at the beginning of a unit before students have any formal introduction to the topic.

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Is renting a storage unit a good idea?

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Equations & Expressions
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Rational Numbers
Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.

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Grading Scales of Justice (Updated!)

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