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The original Pony Express Route covered 8 modern-day states. In 1860, only 2 of these states were recognized as states.

The others were still territories.

Which of these states do you think were the 2 recognized states in 1860?

wyoming

California

nevada

utahcolorado

nebraska

Kansas

missouri

The Pony Express route from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California stretched about 1900

miles.

One rider rode 75-100 miles before relaying the mochila to another rider.

Riders exchanged horses every 10-15 miles at home stations spread across the route.

Sweetwater

Deer Creek

Cottonwood

Sometimes, horses reached speeds of 25-30 miles per hour.

Horses averaged speeds of 10-15 miles per hour.

Initially, it cost $5 per ½ ounce to send a letter to California.

Later, it only cost $1 per ½ ounce to send a letter to California.

$5 $1 80%=

Now we are going to solve some math problems regarding the Pony Express.

The problems will be presented here, just as they appear on your worksheet. Be

sure to show your work! You will receive partial credit.

ALL answers must be rounded to a

whole number. Be sure to round to

the nearest whole number so that the

answer best fits the CONTEXT of the problem.

Problems 1-4 are all based on a full route between St. Joseph, Missouri

and Sacramento, California.

How many miles did this route cover?

1,900

Let’s do #1 together.

Peggy Sue in St. Joseph, Missouri sends a letter to Uncle Billy in Sacramento,

California. The total distance the letter must travel is ~1,900 miles. If the horses’

average speed is 10 mph, how many miles do the riders cover in a day?

How many days will it take for the letter to reach Uncle Billy?

Hint: 1 day = 24 hours

(a) 190

(b) 240

(c) 310(a) 7.9

(c) 8

(b) 7

1.

2. Unfortunately, bad weather forced the horses to travel at an average of only 7

mph. How many miles do the riders cover in a day?

How many days will it take for the letter to reach Uncle Billy?

Cowboy Up!

Cowgirl Up!

3. Cowboy Tom in Sacramento received a letter from Daisy Mae, who lives in St. Joseph. It took 13 days for the letter to

reach him. How many miles did the horses cover each day?

What was the average speed of the horses?

(c) 6(b) 13(a) 4

(c) 147(b) 146.2

(a) 146

4. I. M. Gonne sends a letter from his new home in Sacramento to his mother in St. Joseph to let her know he safely made it

to California.

Due to an increase of attacks on Pony Express Riders in California, the riders maintained their horses at an average

speed of 15 mph for the first 3 days. How many miles did they cover per day? How

many total miles did they cover in 3 days?

Cowboy Up!

Cowgirl Up!

For the following 2 days, horses averaged 10 mph. How many total miles did they

cover in these 2 days?

Flooding in the Nebraska and Kansas Territories

made riding treacherous, and horses

only averaged 5 mph for the remainder of the route to St. Joseph.

How many days did they travel at 5 mph before reaching St. Joseph?

How many TOTAL days did it take for I. M. Gonne's letter to reach his mother?

The next 4 problems are based on varying routes

along the Pony Express Trail.

You may choose a partner to work with on these problems.

1.

Rider I. B. Fast departs from the home station at Devil’s Gate and arrives at Ice

Slough in 5 hours. He rode at 15 mph and changed horses every 15 miles. How many total miles did he cover?

How many home stations did he stop at BEFORE arriving at Ice Slough?

2.Jack, in Sacramento, needs to send a

letter to Jill, who is 1,780 miles away in the Kansas Territory. He wants the letter to reach her in time for her

birthday on May 22nd.

WILL HIS LETTER MAKE IT IN TIME?!?!

The horses gallop through California and the Utah Territory steadily at 12 miles

an hour.1,000 miles beyond Sacramento, in the

Nebraska territory, riders encounter bad weather and the horses slow down to an average of 8 mph for the next 650

miles.Then the weather clears and the horses travel at 15 mph for the remainder of

the route.

Jack mailed his letter on May 14. Will it reach Jill before her birthday is over?

Remember: Jill’s birthday is May 22nd.

3.Trip Eezee departs from the Jacob’s Well home station in the Utah Territory. His horse is the fastest one in the area and speeds to the Ruby Valley home station

at 20 mph. The stations are 10 miles apart.

Trip begins his route to Mtn. Springs on another fast horse at 18 mph.

Unfortunately, after 7 miles, his horse stumbles on a slippery rock and slows to

13 mph for the last 3 miles.

How long does it take Trip Eezee to travel from Jacob’s Well to Mtn. Springs?

What was his average speed for the entire trip?

4. Ima Lone departs from Carson and travels 75 miles to the home station at

Sand Springs. When he reaches Sand Springs, his

relief rider, Big A. Choo, is very sick and won’t be able to ride for days.

Ima Lone rests for 6 hours then departs for the next home station at Fairview.

He rides at 7 mph and reaches Fairview in 2 hours. How much farther did he

have to ride?Did he average a faster speed from

Carson to Sand Springs or from Sand Springs to Fairview?

How long does it take for the letter to arrive at Fairview?

The following 4 problems all deal with the cost of sending

a letter from St. Joseph to Sacramento.

Please return to your seats. You will not be using partners

for these problems.

1. Mr. Boss needs to send 7 letters that each weigh a ½ ounce. How much would it cost to

send these at the $5 rate?

(a) $17.50

(b) $35.00

(c) $30.00

2. Cowboy Joe needs to send 2 letters. One letter weighs 3 ounces, and the other weighs 0.5 ounces. If the current rate is $5 per 0.5 ounce, how much will it cost Cowboy Joe to

send his 2 letters?

3. Miss Imiss Ewe needs to send a letter weighing 4 ounces. She can’t remember the current postal rate. How much will it cost her if it’s $5 per ½ ounce? How much will it cost her if it’s $1 per ½ ounce? How much money

will she save if it’s the $1 rate?

Cowboy Up! Cowgirl Up!

4a.

Mr. U. R. Kiddin sent several letters through the Pony Express one day before they

announced the decrease in the cost from $5 to $1 per ½ ounce. He mailed 1 letter

weighing 3 ounces, 4 letters weighing ½ ounce each, 1 letter weighing 2 ounces, and

3 letters weighing 1 ounce.

How much money could he have saved if he had waited one more day to send his letters?

4b.

What was the average cost of a letter sent by Mr. Kiddin?

At the $5 per ½ ounce rate

What was the least amount Mr. Kiddin spent on 1 letter? What was the most amount Mr.

Kiddin spent on 1 letter?

At the $1 per ½ ounce rate

What was the average cost of a letter sent by Mr. Kiddin?

What was the least amount Mr. Kiddin spent on 1 letter? What was the most amount Mr.

Kiddin spent on 1 letter?

CONGRATS!!!

Tomorrow we will use spreadsheets to check our

answers

Thank You to the following resources:

www.xphomestation.com

www.rfrajola.com/pony/page1_4.htm

rumorsandrants.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pony-express.jpg

www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/travel/

pony1.html

www.rivertrailonline.org/express011024.jpg

HAPPY TRAILS!

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