Car Sale! Half off!

November 22, 2009 | Posted in: Class Updates

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Friday’s math lesson (part of it) and critical thought lesson came courtesy of Jay Leno’s headline bit from last Monday.  He showed this (above) advertisement, and he and the audience got a laugh out of the misleading wording that implied that the cost of the cars is twice the amount listed.  (“The price you see if half the price you pay!” = The price you pay is twice the price you see listed.)  The kids spent quite some time trying to spot the error (the highlighting was hidden) and we discussed the mistake in the advertisement.  Interestingly, as we discussed how the cost of cars have changed in the past 20 years, we noted the possibility that the ad is correct and that the advertisers did intend to charge twice the amount listed, and that the misleading advertisement was just intended to bring in buyers.  (I wasn’t buying cars in 1990, so I don’t have a good frame of reference, sorry.)  Given that my car is on its last legs, however, I’d be happy to pay any of those prices (or even double the prices) to get a new car!

After we discussed all the different possibilities, the kids responded to the following question:  Explain what’s wrong with the ad, why it’s unclear, and how it could be fixed. Because we discussed all the possibilities, I was glad that the kids could focus on writing well-written responses, rather than focusing on finding the “right answer.”  These responses are graded and will go home tomorrow or Tuesday.