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Tip Jar

What’s the fairest way to tip at a restaurant?

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Tip Jar

What’s the fairest way to tip at a restaurant?

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What’s the fairest way to tip at a restaurant? When you go out to eat in the United States, it’s customary to leave a tip as a percent of the total bill. When we do this, though, we don’t compensate servers for how hard they work but rather for how expensive the restaurant is.

Students use percents to calculate tips for different restaurant bills and debate the best ways to compensate waiters and waitresses.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • In the United States, it’s convention to tip as a percent of the total bill at restaurants.
  • A tip can be quickly approximated on the fly by reasoning proportionally from 10%. A 20% tip is double 10%; a 15% tip can be thought of as 10% plus half of 10%.
  • Tipping as a percent ties server compensation to the cost of food rather than how much work it takes to serve it.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Reason proportionally to solve real-world problems
  • Calculate percent of a whole

Great anytime, including at the beginning of a unit before students have any formal introduction to the topic.
Grade 6
Percents
Grade 6
Percents
Content Standards
Mathematical Practices

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