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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.

Lexile: 600L
Focus Area: Fractions and Decimals,
Standards
  • MATHEMATICAL PRACTICES: MP4, MP6, MP7 COMMON CORE: 3.NF.A.1 TEKS: 3.3A

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Lexile® measure

  • 600L
flaw

A mistake or problem that can cause something to weaken or fail
first-class

The highest of three typical classes of travel; the best quality
watertight

Closely sealed, fastened, or fitted so that no water enters or passes through
denominator

The bottom part of a fraction. It tells us the total number of equal pieces or things.

Example: If an apple is cut into four equal slices, the denominator is 4, because four pieces make up the whole apple.
numerator

The top part of a fraction. It tells us how many equal parts of the whole you have.

Example: If an apple is cut into four equal slices, and you eat one, the numerator for how many slices are eaten is 1, because it is one out of the four pieces that make up the whole apple.
fraction

A number that stands for part of a whole. Fractions are typically written in the form “1/8.” This fraction is pronounced “one-eighth.”

Example: If an apple is cut into 4 equal slices, and you eat one slice, you have eaten 1/4 of an apple.

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.

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.

Math Talk

How did the number of lifeboats play a role in this tragic event?

 

Fractions of a Set

A fraction is a number that shows part of a whole. Sometimes the whole represents a set, or a group of objects. The denominator represents the total number of objects in the set. The numerator represents a specific number of those objects. 

Example

What fraction of the letters in the name Titanic are vowels?

Titanic
3 vowels
7 total letters

numerator  3/7  denominator

 

 

All About The Titanic

The numbers behind the tragedy of the “Unsinkable Ship”

  • At the time of its launch, the RMS Titanic was the largest moving humanmade object in the world! The Titanic set sail from England to New York City on April 10, 1912. But four days into its journey, the Titanic struck an iceberg. The iceberg tore gashes into the ship’s hull. Watertight compartments—called bulkheads—were supposed to keep the “unsinkable” ship afloat, even if there was a leak. But due to a design flaw, the ship’s bulkheads filled with water. The Titanic sank with about 1,500 people still on board. It was one of the greatest tragedies at sea of the 20th century.

The Sinking of the Titanic: 

  • April 14, 1912, 11:35 P.M.
    Iceberg is spotted, but it’s too late
  • 11:40 P.M.
    Titanic hits the iceberg
  • April 15, 1912, 12:15 A.M.
    First distress signals are sent
  • 12:20 A.M.
    Carpathia rushes toward Titanic
  • 12:45 A.M.
    First lifeboats are lowered
  • 2:18 A.M. 
    Front of Titanic dips under the water
  • 2:20 A.M. 
    Titanic fully sinks
  • 3:30 A.M.
    Carpathia crew rescues 706 survivors

Titanic by the Numbers

  • $7.5 million 
  • Cost to build the ship in 1912. In today’s dollars, that would be about $200 million! 
  • 52,310 tons
  • Weight of the massive ship
  • 175 Feet
  • Height from the ship’s bottom to the top of the steam funnels 
  • 26 miles per hour
  • Top speed of the ship

WORDS TO KNOW

  • Bulkhead: A tall, vertical wall in a ship that makes a watertight seal
  • Hull: The outer frame of a ship
  • Morse Code: A written language that uses dots and dashes to represent letters of the alphabet
  • Cutter Boat: A small sailing ship with a single mast, a tall pole with a sail
  • Collapsible Boat: A lifeboat with canvas sides that could be folded down for storage

Continue Your Learning

  • Rewatch the video “Searching for the Titanic” (above). Then create a timeline of the history of the Titanic using the information in the video. Use the timeline on page 19 as an example. You can also add drawings or photos to your timeline!
  • Gather a set of similar items, like a box of crayons, buttons, or LEGO® bricks. Create different fractions of a set for your item based on their characteristics. For example, you may sort your buttons by the number of holes they have or small versus large. Create as many sets as you can, and write a fraction to represent each set.
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