Students predict pumpkin sizes

Eighth graders Stacey Lavenski and Hunter Lewis measure little pumpkins at Overlook Middle School.

Team 8A at Overlook Middle School tried to determine if they cause use a big formula on a little item.

There is a formula used to estimate the weight of a huge pumpkin that is too big to transport or put on the scale. It involves using a tape measure to take three different "distance around" measures. Then using the formula, the weight of the pumpkin can be estimated in pounds.

The students participated in an activity to see if a formula could be created to estimate the weight of the tiny pumpkins. Using metric tape measures and triple beam balances, each student calculated the "distance around" measures and the mass (weight).

Each student's data was plotted on a scatter plot and then a line of best fit (trend line) was drawn. From the line of best fit, we were able to calculate a formula that could be used to estimate the weight of a "We Be Little" Pumpkin by taking various measurements.

-Submitted to The Journal