MCR g4 on the math menu

DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Math Concept Reader

On the Menu:

Bamboo, Figs, and
Other Tasty Treats

ca42os_lay_070102aF_cp.indd 1

1/7/07 12:34:47 AM


DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

ca42os_lay_070102aF_cp.indd 2

1/7/07 12:34:47 AM


DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Math Concept Reader

On the Menu:

Bamboo, Figs, and
Other Tasty Treats
By Sarah Mastrianni
Copyright © Gareth Stevens, Inc. All rights reserved.

Developed for Harcourt, Inc., by Gareth Stevens, Inc. This edition published
by Harcourt, Inc., by agreement with Gareth Stevens, Inc. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
copyright holder.
Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be
addressed to Permissions Department, Gareth Stevens, Inc., 330 West Olive
Street, Suite 100, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. Fax: 414-332-3567.
HARCOURT and the Harcourt Logo are trademarks of Harcourt, Inc.,
registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 13: 978-0-15-360188-0
ISBN 10: 0-15-360188-4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 179 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07

ca42os_lay_070102aF_cp.indd 3

1/7/07 12:34:47 AM


DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Chapter 1:

Bonkers for Bamboo
and Eucalyptus

Amanda is a zookeeper. Her days are always busy.
There are more than 2,000 animals to feed at her zoo.
From apes to zebras, zookeepers take care of them

all. As a zookeeper, Amanda has many different
responsibilities.
Today Amanda’s first job is to make sure there is
enough food for the Giant Panda for the week. The
panda is nearly two years old, but he eats 12 pounds
of bamboo a day! Amanda does the math.
7 × 12 = 84; 84 pounds of bamboo
Twelve pounds a day for seven days is 84 pounds
of bamboo. Amanda has more than 100 pounds of
fresh bamboo. There is plenty to last the week.



ca42os_lay_070102aF_cp.indd 2

1/7/07 12:34:49 AM


Giant Pandas love bamboo.
They can eat 12 pounds of bamboo a day!

Most of the bamboo fed to the pandas is grown
right at the zoo. There are four acres of land that are
used to grow bamboo here. Zoo workers harvest eight
tons of the plant each year. That means about two
tons of bamboo grow on each acre. Amanda is always
amazed by that fact, as well as by the large number of
other uses for bamboo. It isn’t just used to feed pandas.
Some people use bamboo to make furniture, forks,
and spoons. It can even be used to make paper. There

are so many kinds of bamboo at Amanda’s zoo. Some
visitors spend a whole afternoon just learning about
this incredible, tall grass.
(


Koalas must eat a lot of eucalyptus leaves
to get all the nutrients they need.

Amanda stops to see the koalas before starting her
next task. She is surprised. The koalas are awake.
Koalas can sleep as many as 20 hours each day. They
are often found nestled in the fork of a tree.
Amanda knows some people think koalas are
cuddly because their fur looks thick and soft.
However, their fur actually feels like the wool on
a sheep. One koala weighs only about 20 pounds.
It can eat as much as three pounds of food a day.
Amanda knows they eat a lot because eucalyptus is
not very nutritious, or healthy. The koalas have to eat
large amounts of the leaves to get all the nutrients
they need.
)


Amanda needs to order more food for the koalas.
The koalas are picky eaters. They eat only the leaves
of the eucalyptus tree. Koalas eat between one and
three pounds of eucalyptus leaves each day. Koalas
are one of very few species that can eat eucalyptus.

These leaves contain toxins, or poisons, so most
animals won’t eat them. Koalas, however, have
adapted to the toxin. Their bodies have found a
way to not be harmed by the plant.
Amanda orders enough of the leaves for three
pounds of food each day for each of the five koalas.
She must order 15 pounds of food to last one day.

5 × 3 = 15
Each koala will get 3 pounds of eucalyptus a day.
5 × 3 = 15; 15 pounds of eucalyptus
*


DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Chapter 2:

Apples and Figs –
One Pound Each Please
Amanda smiles as she leaves the koalas. She heads
over to the zoo’s newest mammal—an orangutan.
This orangutan is on loan from another zoo. It will be
here for several months.
Orangutans are the only great apes that come
from Asia. The other great apes come from Africa.
Amanda is excited to have this ape at the zoo because
she knows orangutans tend to have their own
personalities. They often have strong likes and dislikes.
In their native environment, orangutans eat bark,

leaves, flowers, and insects. Most importantly, they
eat fruit. Amanda checks a thick binder of notes that
came with the orangutan. She reads that this
orangutan loves apples and figs.



ca42os_lay_070102aF_cp.indd 6

1/7/07 12:34:59 AM


Orangutans in the wild
and in zoos love to eat fruit.
This orangutan has a mouth full of figs!

In the wild, orangutans spend most of their lives in
trees. They swing from branch to branch. Nearly all
of the food orangutans eat grows in the treetops. Rain
fills leaves with water for them to drink.
Amanda wants to be sure she has enough fruit for
the orangutan for the next six days. She checks her
supplies. Amanda weighs the fruit on a scale. She sees
she has 12 pounds of apples and figs. The animal
should have about two pounds of fruit each day. She
does the math.
12 ÷ 6 = 2; 2 pounds of fruit
She has plenty of fruit for the orangutan. Amanda
leaves some fruit out before she heads to her next stop.
,

Welcome to the Zoo!

Zoo Volunteer
May I help you?

Amanda has been busy making sure there is
enough food for the animals. Now she is happy to
meet a group of trained volunteers. They help at the
zoo in many ways.
Today, Amanda has three jobs for the volunteers.
She needs help greeting visitors at the zoo’s entrance
and planting beds of flowers in one of the zoo’s many
gardens. She also needs help repairing an empty zoo
building. It is being fixed up in order to house some
new animal exhibits.
Amanda is thrilled to see that nine volunteers are
at the zoo. She is always happy to have extra help.
She must figure out how many volunteers to assign to
each job.

-


Gardening

Construction

Welcome

to the
Zoo!

9÷3=3
There are three
volunteers for each job.

Amanda lists the three jobs she needs help with on
her clipboard. She asks if anyone has a
special interest because she wants to put the people
in jobs they will enjoy. All the people say they are just
happy to help out and will do any of the three jobs.
She figures out that with nine volunteers she will need
three people to work on each job.
9 ÷ 3 = 3; 3 people for each job
Amanda asks three people to help at the entrance.
She asks three more volunteers who grow flowers at
home to help with the garden. The remaining three
volunteers leave to work on the building. Amanda will
check on the volunteers later.
.


DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Chapter 3:

The Elephants Need
Their Hay and Carrots!
Once Amanda knows the volunteers are set, she

checks on a food delivery. Four trucks carrying
several tons of hay for the elephants have arrived at
the zoo. Hay is just one of the foods elephants eat.
They also eat large amounts of leaves, grass, and tree
bark. Elephants are such large animals. They can eat
for nearly twenty hours a day.
Trucks with food and supplies do not come
through the main zoo entrance. They have a special
place where they enter the zoo. When Amanda
arrives at the delivery entrance, the four trucks are
waiting for her. Each truck carries two tons of hay.
The drivers have paperwork Amanda must sign for the
delivery.

10

ca42os_lay_070102aF_cp.indd 10

1/7/07 12:35:06 AM


2 Tons
of Hay

2 Tons
of Hay

2 Tons
of Hay

2 Tons
of Hay

4×2=8
The four trucks delivered 8 tons of hay.

Amanda makes sure the trucks are delivering
exactly what she ordered before she signs the papers.
Amanda knows there are eight tons of hay since each
truck carries two tons.
4 × 2 = 8; 8 tons of hay
Perfect—that is exactly what she ordered. Amanda
signs the delivery paperwork. She smiles and thanks
the truck drivers. The drivers, who deliver all kinds of
food to the zoo, head off to unload the hay near the
elephants.
Elephants are plant eaters. Amanda knows it takes
a lot of food to feed an elephant. An adult African
elephant can weigh more than 10,000 pounds. Wild
elephants can eat up to 440 pounds of food each day!
&&


Elephants love carrots.
Zookeepers sometimes fill treat
balls with carrots for their elephants.

Seeing the hay reminds Amanda to think about
other things elephants eat. She knows that hay is not
the only food in their diets. They also eat a lot of

carrots. Amanda decides this is a good time to weigh
some carrots which she will later put inside treat balls
for the elephants.
Elephants enjoy the treat-filled balls. They are large
and very hard to break. They have small holes in
them. Amanda can put up to 12 pounds of food inside
each ball. Then she gives the balls to the elephants
who try to get food out through the holes. They spend
hours playing with treat balls. They usually kick them
around, but sometimes an elephant will stomp on
one!
&'


Amanda stops to play with the baby
elephant after leaving treat balls filled
with carrots for the elephants.

Amanda wants to stuff each of the three treat balls
with carrots for the elephants. Sometimes she fills
them with nuts and raisins. Today she will fill them
with carrots.
She places three empty buckets on a scale,
knowing each bucket can hold about 12 pounds of
carrots. She multiplies to find out how many pounds
of carrots the three buckets will hold all together.
3 × 12 = 36; 36 pounds of carrots
The three buckets can hold 36 pounds of carrots
in all. Amanda fills the treat balls with carrots and
then heads down the zoo path to see the elephants.

The carrots will be a tasty treat for the large animals.
&(


Guide 1

Guide 2

Guide 3

Guide 4

Guide 5

Guide 6

12 ÷ 6 = 2
Each tour guide will get 2 stacks of pamphlets.

Soon Amanda heads to the main office and sees
new pamphlets in a box on her desk. The pamphlets
tell visitors about the elephants at the zoo. They have
many interesting facts including how much the
elephants eat and drink, and how much they sleep.
Amanda needs to set out the pamphlets for six tour
guides who will work tomorrow. The box contains
12 stacks of pamphlets.
12 ÷ 6 = 2; 2 stacks of pamphlets
Twelve stacks of pamphlets divided among six tour
guides equal two stacks of pamphlets for each guide.

She places two stacks of pamphlets on a table for
each of the six tour guides. The tour guides will find
them in the morning.
&)


Another zookeeper at Amanda’s
zoo feeds the rhinos.

Amanda is done with her work for the day. Before
she heads home, she takes a walk through the zoo
once more. She passes many of the animals she took
care of earlier that day. She recalls what a busy day it
has been and thinks about her job.
She is happy that her job allows her to do so many
different things. She orders food for the animals,
checks on deliveries, and assigns tasks to volunteers.
She also feeds the animals and prepares treats for
them.
There is a lot of math involved in all of those jobs.
She wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. Amanda
loves the zoo and looks forward to another busy day
tomorrow.
&*


DIGITAL FINAL PROOF

Glossary
exhibit something on display for others to see

eucalyptus a type of evergreen tree that is native to
Australia and its neighboring islands. Eucalyptus leaves
have an oil that can be used as a medicine.
nutrient a source of nourishment
nutritious giving nourishment
orangutan an ape with long arms and reddish brown
hair that lives in trees

Photo Credits: cover, p. 13 © Stephanie Maze/Corbis; p. 3 © Corbis Sygma;
p. 5 © Inga Spence/Visuals Unlimited; p. 7 © R.Dirscherl/ FLPA; p. 15 © George
D. Lepp/Corbis.

16

ca42os_lay_070102aF_cp.indd 16

1/7/07 12:35:17 AM


Think and Respond
1. Hippos spend most of their days in shallow water.
At night, they like to graze on grass. If a hippo
grazes for about six hours a day, how many hours
does a hippo graze in one week? Remember, there
are seven days in a week.
2. There are four giraffes at a watering hole at the zoo.
During the course of the day, they each drink 10
gallons of water. How many gallons of water do the
four giraffes drink in all?
3. There are three kangaroo exhibits at the zoo and

a total of 12 kangaroos. Each exhibit has the same
number of kangaroos. How many kangaroos are in
each exhibit?

4. Write your own multiplication or division problem.
Think of an animal that might live at the zoo.
Research how much food and the types of food the
animal eats. Show a number sentence that you can
use to solve the problem.