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Fermi Problems

By Platform Administrator · Submitted Sep 30, 2026

Content Area
Mathematics
Grade
6

Fermi problems are problems that exist in many different real world scenarios. You are not able to answer these problems in one step, so you have to break the problem down into more manageable questions. These questions can require research, calculation, or estimation to answer. Your task is to write and answer a Fermi Problem that interests you. What real-world role would you be taking on? What question will you tackle related to that role?

MA Standards

6.RP.A.1
Understand the concept of a ratio including the distinctions between part:part and part:whole and the value of a ratio; part/part and part/whole. Use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. For example: The ratio of wings to beaks in the bird house at the zoo was 2:1, because for every two wings there was one beak; For every vote candidate A received, candidate C received nearly three votes, meaning that candidate C received three out of every four votes or ¾ of all votes.
6.RP.A.2
Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship, including the use of units. For example: This recipe has a ratio of three cups of flour to four cups of sugar, so there is ¾ cup of flour for each cup of sugar; We paid $75 for 15 hamburgers, which is a rate of five dollars per hamburger. Expectations for unit rates in this grade are limited to non-complex fractions.
6.RP.A.3
Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.

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