The Plant Doctor

Alabama, 1896: George Washington Carver headed to a new job—leading the Agriculture Department at the Tuskegee Institute. From the train, he grew concerned.

1. On average, cotton farmers in Alabama grew 10 × (27 + 3) + 14 pounds of cotton per acre of land. Solve the expression for the cotton per acre that farmers grew.

But Carver had a plan.

There was one thing Carver didn’t expect: Even when local farmers knew what to do, they believed they couldn’t afford it.

2. During this time, about (207 + 78) ÷ 3 percent of Alabama farms were on land owned by White men. Black farmers often worked the land. They had to give a large portion of the profits to the land owners. Solve for the percentage of Alabama farms that were owned by White people.

Carver knew that if farmers kept only planting cotton, the soil would worsen. Eventually, nothing would grow at all!

So in 1906, Carver designed a mobile classroom. It became known as the Jesup Agricultural Wagon.

3. At its busiest time, the Jesup Agricultural Wagon reached (50 × 10) × (21 – 17) farmers per month! Solve for the number of farmers Carver reached each month.

Carver and his colleagues drove the wagon throughout Alabama, sharing his message far and wide.

Some tried planting the new crops. But there was just one more problem!

Carver found the answer. In fact, he found many answers!

4. Carver gathered more than (5 × 7) × (80 ÷ 8) − 50 uses for peanuts alone. Solve for the number of ways to use peanuts Carver shared with farmers.

In the meantime, a new threat to Southern farmers crept northward . . .

Alabama, 1910: It was the boll weevil! These cotton-destroying insects had been moving north from Mexico into the Southern U.S. Now they had reached Alabama.

Boll weevils dig into cotton bolls to lay their eggs. This kills the plants from the inside out.

5. Within five years, Alabama farmers lost 8 × (15 ÷ 3) + (4 × 5) percent of their cotton crops. Solve for the percentage of cotton that was destroyed.

But all hope wasn’t lost. Many farms were able to adapt.

George Washington Carver never stopped working to help others. Despite the racism he often faced, he continued to study ways to help farmers across the U.S.

6. Before his death in 1943, Carver donated his life’s savings to create an agriculture institute at Tuskegee. The donation equaled (500 × 2) × (45 + 25) – 10 × (250 × 4) dollars. Solve to find how much Carver donated.

Carver was an inspiration to many. He was a true Earth Day hero long before Earth Day existed!

7. Today, Carver’s childhood home in Missouri is a national monument and park spanning a total of (45 ÷ 9) × (50 × 8) + (55 + 46) acres of land. Solve to find how many acres the park covers.