12:00 p.m., April 10, 1912
You’re excited for your trip to America! You step onto the world’s biggest ship—the RMS Titanic. This is the first time she’ll sail.
How did the number of lifeboats play a role in this tragic event?
Math,
Escape the Titanic
Your Mission: As you read the panels, use your knowledge of fractions to escape the sinking Titanic!
By Karina Hamalainen; Illustrated by Nate Powell
From the September 2021 Issue
Learning Objective: Students will write fractions representing objects and scenes from a retelling of the tragedy of the RMS Titanic.
You’re writing a story for The Daily Times newspaper. You’ll be traveling first-class for the next six days.
There will be tea, dancing, and games! What could go wrong?
7:00 P.M., April 14
You’ve been invited to dinner with Captain Smith tonight!
"I’ve never seen so much silverware in one place. I hope I use it all correctly."
What is the total amount of silverware (forks, knives, and spoons)?
How many are forks?
What fraction of the total pieces are forks?
11:30 P.M., April 14
After your meal, you walk on the deck with Captain Smith. Ten minutes later, you hear a shout.
"Did the ship just hit an iceberg?"
"Iceberg right ahead!"
You head belowdecks with Captain Smith and shipbuilder Thomas Andrews to inspect the ship’s inner hull for damage.
You learn that the Titanic has a design flaw: The bulkheads don’t go all the way to the ceiling. Water is spilling over from each bulkhead to its neighbor. Now, 5 of the 16 bulkheads are full! The ship is starting to tilt—filling the bulkheads even faster!
"Water is leaking into the Hull. The bulkheads are filling up with water—They're not working like they should! "
"This is your captain: Ready the lifeboats!"
"We have maybe two hours before the titanic sinks!"
At this time, around 11:45 p.m., what fraction of the bulkheads are full of water?
12:15 A.M., April 15
In the radio room, operator Jack Phillips is calling for help. He uses Morse code, a written language that uses dots and dashes to represent letters of the alphabet. There are two codes for help: “CQD” and “SOS.”
"CQD CQD SOS . . . Come at once. We struck an iceberg. Sinking.
-.-. --.- -.."
What fraction of the symbols in “SOS” are dots?
What fraction of the symbols in “CQD” are dashes?
1:05 A.M., April 15
You rush to the lifeboats. Before you know it, a crew member helps you into Boat 6. It launches with only 28 people, many fewer than the 65 people it can carry.
"In you go, Mrs. Brown!"
"Arrgh!"
Eventually, the crew launches all 14 wooden lifeboats, both emergency cutter boats, and 2 of the 4 collapsible boats. What fraction of the total boats were used?
3:30 A.M., April 15
You row away from the sinking ship. Later, you learn that 1,503 people were still on board. You see something in the distance. Soon you hear shouts. The crew of the RMS Carpathia heard the SOS signal. They’re here to rescue you! You escaped the Titanic!
"I was strolling on her deck barely two hours ago. Now she's slipping into the sea. I’m lucky to be alive. "
Write your own fraction of a set using any information on pages 14 through 19.
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