Frequent Flyer Miles: A real-world math application

Mrs. Franck and Mrs. Evenhouse are teaching students how to apply math to real-world situations.

In the “Frequent Flyer Miles” project, students are tasked with creating a linear equation in slope-intercept form to represent the frequent flyer points they earn for every mile of travel. Students then create their travel itinerary by choosing the cities they’d like to visit across the globe, using their linear equation to calculate the number of points they earn on each flight, graphing their equation, creating a map showing their travels, and ultimately answering questions surrounding the project that then leads into a poster that contains all of the elements of the project along with answering the question of whether or not they earned a free flight by achieving 45,000 frequent flyer miles. 

This is the type of project that our math department integrates throughout their units in order to keep math both exciting and engaging. Students will often question whether or not what they’re learning in math can or will apply to their life outside of school, and both Mrs. Franck and Mrs. Evenhouse are passionate about presenting ideas like this one so that students can fully understand how math truly does integrate into everyday life.