Have you ever walked by a really dirty car and run your finger through the grime to write your name? An artist named Ben Long does this to draw huge, beautiful, painting-like pictures on the backs of dirty trucks. Imagine driving down the highway and seeing a giant picture of a dog or horse staring at you from the back of a truck. Ben makes his art with no paints, no brushes…he just needs a lot of soap and water when he’s done.
Lace up: If Ben draws with his pointy finger, middle finger and thumb, how many fingers does he use? Count those fingers on your own hand!
Jog: If Ben uses his pointy finger, middle finger and thumb, how many fingers on that hand does he not use?
Sprint: If Saturday is the 1st “dirtying” day of no rain and Ben draws on the 5th day, on what day of the week does he draw?
Hurdle: If the back of a truck is 8 feet wide and 9 feet tall, how many square feet of art can Ben make? (Reminder: Area is length (in this case height) times width.)
High Jump: If the bottom of the back of the truck is 4 feet off the ground and the top of the back of the truck is 9 feet above that, and Ben’s hand can reach 7 feet 4 inches above the ground, how tall a ladder does he need to draw at the top?
Answers:
Lace up: 3 fingers.
Jog: 2 fingers.
Sprint: On Wednesday.
Hurdle: 72 square feet.
High Jump: 5 feet 8 inches, since the top is 13 feet high.
