"The Big Splash"

Story Summary

Department of Public Works
Capacity 3,000 gal

When Chris arrives at the fire hall, he meets Chief Sullivan, the fire chief. Chief Sullivan shows Chris the pumper truck which can pump 1000 gallons a minute, assuming they are hooked up to a hydrant. Chris asks if they usually find a hydrant, and Chief Sullivan says that usually they do, assuming they are in the city. Chief Sullivan says that the pumper truck holds some water (the sign says 'capacity 700 gallons'), but it doesn't hold enough water to do much fire fighting. Chief Sullivan then shows Chris the 38 foot ladders. Chris asks how often the firefighters go out on fires. Chief Sullivan says that they average 20 to 30 calls a week, although some of the calls are false alarms.

Chris sees a "weird looking contraption" in the fire hall. Chief Sullivan says that it is a dunking machine that they built. He says that they sometimes sell 100 tickets per hour. They rent it out for $25.00 per day, and the proceeds go to their scholarship fund. Chris asks where they put the water. Chief Sullivan says that they set it up in an above-ground swimming pool. Chris then asks the chief to see the pole which firefighters slide down when there is a fire.

Thursday afternoon, as Chris sits in school, he listens to an announcement about the upcoming Fun Fair. The principal, Ms. Stieger, announces that the fair will be held a week from Friday from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. on the athletic field. She says that the proceeds will go toward a new video camera for the student television station. She also says that they hope to raise $800, and they need at least one more good money making project for the fair. The school will loan someone up to $150.00 to cover the initial costs of their project. Plans need to be given to her by Wednesday

As Chris listens to the announcement, he daydreams about his teacher getting drenched as he is dunked by a dunking machine. Two formulas, V = ¼r2 x h and ¼ ‰ 3.14, are shown on the board behind the teacher.

Later that afternoon, Chris goes to Ms. Stieger to find out what he needs to do to have a booth in the Fun Fair. She tells him that he needs to write a business plan that describes how much money he expects to take in, his gross revenue, and how he arrived at that number. Secondly, she needs an itemized account of all his expenses. The expenses cannot exceed $150.00, the maximum amount she can loan him. The plan needs to include everything he will need so that she can see that everything will be in the right place at the right time. Her rule of thumb is that if everything looks good and the revenue is at least twice his expenses, the project is viable and she can make him the loan.

Later, Chris meets Jasper at the Soda Shop to talk about his plan. Jasper asks Chris how many students go to his school. Chris has already researched this and found that there are 380 students enrolled in the school, and on an average day, twenty are absent. Jasper says it would be nice to know how many students would buy tickets. Chris estimates that more than half probably would. Chris and Jasper decide a survey would be a good way of getting a more accurate estimate.

Chris hands out surveys to every sixth student in line going into the school cafeteria during lunchtime on Friday. The survey asks the following:
Sometimes at fairs, you'll see one of those dunking machines. When you hit the target with a ball, a person will fall in the water.

1. Would you like to "dunk" one of your teachers at the All-School Fair?
   Circle one
   

   Yes

   No

2. What's the most you would pay for one ticket (2 throws)?
   Circle one
   

   A. $0.50 B. $1.00

   C. $1.50 D. $2.00

They begin to figure out how much money Chris would make if he charged the different amounts for tickets based on his survey results. Jasper says that all 58 students would pay at least $ .50 for a ticket. Chris multiplied 58 times $ .50 and got $29.00. Next, Chris says that all but 13 students would spend at least $1.00 for a ticket. To determine how many students would pay $1.00 for a ticket, Chris adds 21, 16, and 8 and gets an answer of 45. Jasper has to leave, so Chris continues to find what the best ticket price would be on his own.

On Saturday, Jasper and Chris meet Janet Foster, the proprietor of Penguin Pools. She says that she usually does not rent pools, but since Chris is doing this for a school project, she might make an exception. Ms. Foster shows them a pool that she thinks might be just what he needs. It is 3 feet deep and 12 feet in diameter. It holds about 2500 gallons of water. She will rent it to Chris for $40 a day, in advance, and she will give him one-fourth off for the second day if he needs it. Jasper asks if this price includes delivery.

Ms. Foster shows them a price sheet:

Ms. Foster says that Harold, her set up man, figures it takes about two hours to set a pool up or take it down, and he will start at 6 a.m., but he won't work past 6 p.m. Chris asks if two hours includes filling the pool. Ms. Foster says, "No, it doesn't. So be sure to allow yourself plenty of time up front to fill the pool, especially if you are going to fill it from a hose." Ms. Foster points out that Chris could buy the water from her. It costs $15 a load plus mileage; her truck holds 1500 gallons. She says that it takes about 15 minutes to pump water in or out of the pool. Ms. Foster says there are 7.5 gallons in a cubic foot of water. Chris and Jasper leave the pool store with 45,836.5 miles showing on the odometer.

They arrive at the school (odometer reading: 45,845.4 mi) to test how quickly water comes out of the water hose. It takes them 20 minutes to get to the school from the pool store. When they arrive at school, they walk past a fire hydrant to get to the hose. It takes 30 seconds to fill a five gallon bucket with water from the school's water hose.

Sunday afternoon, Chris goes back to the fire hall to talk to Chief Sullivan. Chief Sullivan says that Chris can use the machine for a day, and they'll bring it over Thursday afternoon. Chris asks if they can begin filling it up at 8:30 Friday morning. Chief Sullivan agrees and says that they can use the pumper truck to fill the pool, which will only take a few minutes. Chris won't have to pay anything for the fill up because it's a school project. He emphasizes that if the firefighters are out on a call, they won't be able to help until they get back.

Tuesday afternoon, Chris and Jasper meet at the Soda Shop. Jasper is reading the newspaper. Chris sees an article that says that the Public Works Department will drain swimming pools free of charge. Concerned citizens should call the Mayor's Office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Chris says that he will be presenting his plan to Ms. Stieger the next day.

Challenge

• Five teachers have told Chris that they are willing to be dunked.
• Prepare a business plan for the dunking machine project as if you were making the presentation to Ms. Stieger.