Christina and her friends notice that there is a lot of algae in a small lake in their neighborhood. Christina's teacher says that this is a result of fertilizer from nearby lawns being washed into the lake.

Question

Christina and her friends want the lake to be more healthy. They decide to try to persuade people to stop putting fertilizer on their lawns. They want to reach as many people as possible, but they are not sure of the best way to do this. They combine their money and find that they have $50 that they can spend to make people aware of the problem. They can spend about an hour every day on this project and want to finish it within the next two weeks.

After brainstorming, Christina and her friends come up with a few ideas for possible solutions:

Action Number of copies Cost per copy Time to create Time to distribute Who will see it
Idea 1 design a flyer and post a copy on public bulletin boards in laundromats, coffee shops, and libraries 50 50¢ 2 hours total 10 minutes each people who go to these locations
Idea 2 design a flyer and take a copy to each house in the neighborhood 300 50¢ 2 hours total 2 minutes each all neighborhood residents
Idea 3 create a large poster and display it in their classroom at school 1 $2 2 hours 10 minutes students and teachers
Idea 4 create several posters and display them in various locations around the neighborhood 5 $2 2 hours each 10 minutes each most neighborhood residents

Which of the ideas best fits the criteria and constraints for Christina and her friends?
A.
idea 4
B.
idea 3
C.
idea 2
D.
idea 1

Answer 1

To evaluate which idea best fits Christina and her friends' criteria and constraints, we should consider their budget, the target audience, the time available, and the reach of each solution.

1. Budget: Christina and her friends have $50 to spend.
2. Time to complete: They have about 1 hour a day for 14 days, totaling 14 hours.
3. Target audience: They want to reach as many people as possible in their neighborhood.

Now, let’s analyze each idea:

• Idea 1:

  • Number of copies: 50
  • Cost: 50¢ each → Total $25
  • Time to create: 2 hours total
  • Time to distribute: 10 minutes each → 50 copies = 500 minutes (8 hours and 20 minutes)
  • Reach: People who go to laundromats, coffee shops, and libraries.

• Idea 2:

  • Number of copies: 300
  • Cost: 50¢ each → Total $150 (exceeds budget)
  • Time to create: 2 hours total
  • Time to distribute: 2 minutes each → 300 copies = 600 minutes (10 hours)
  • Reach: All neighborhood residents.

• Idea 3:

  • Number of copies: 1
  • Cost: $2
  • Time to create: 2 hours total
  • Time to distribute: 10 minutes
  • Reach: Students and teachers.

• Idea 4:

  • Number of copies: 5
  • Cost: $2 each → Total $10
  • Time to create: 2 hours each → 10 hours total
  • Time to distribute: 10 minutes each → 50 minutes total
  • Reach: Most neighborhood residents.

Summary of Evaluation

• Idea 1 is low on budget but takes too much distribution time (more than they have).
• Idea 2 exceeds their budget, so it’s not feasible.
• Idea 3 reaches only students and teachers, which isn’t the broad impact they want.
• Idea 4, though it takes 10 hours to create the posters, it allows them to spend within their budget and effectively reach a significant portion of the neighborhood residents with 5 well-placed posters.

Considering their constraints (budget and time) alongside the goal of reaching a significant audience:

The best fit is: A. Idea 4.

It meets the budget, requires time within their allowance, and reaches a broad audience in their neighborhood.