Phase 1: Mission Briefing
Welcome aboard, Festival Producer! Learn about your mission.
🎶 Your Mission
Congratulations! You have been hired as the Lead Producer for a brand-new music festival. Your job is to plan everything — from booking artists and scheduling performances to managing the budget and designing the festival grounds. The catch? Every decision requires writing, evaluating, and simplifying algebraic expressions.
Your festival budget is $50,000. You'll use expressions with variables to model costs, revenue, and logistics. Make smart mathematical decisions to create the best festival possible!
1
Festival Producer Registration
Enter your information and name your festival to begin!
2
Expression Vocabulary Review
Before we start producing, let's review the key math vocabulary
you'll use throughout this project. Match each term with its
definition.
Variable
A letter that represents an unknown number. Example: In
5n + 3, the variable is
n.
Coefficient
The number multiplied by a variable. In
5n + 3, the coefficient of
n is
5.
Constant
A fixed number with no variable. In
5n + 3, the constant is
3.
Like Terms
Terms with the same variable to the same power.
3x and
7x are like terms.
To combine like terms, add the coefficients of terms that have
the same variable. 8t + 3t = (8+3)t = 11t. The constant stays
the same.
📚 Support: Like terms are terms that have
the exact same variable letter. You can add their coefficients
just like adding regular numbers: 8 apples + 3 apples = 11 apples,
so 8t + 3t = 11t.
3
Festival Budget Overview
Study the budget categories for your festival. You'll write
expressions to model each category's costs.
| Category | Base Cost | Per-Unit Cost | Variable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🎸 Artist Booking | $2,000 setup fee | $500 per artist | a = number of artists |
| 🎵 Sound & Stage | $3,500 rental | $200 per hour of performances | h = hours |
| 🍔 Food Vendors | $800 permits | $150 per vendor | v = vendors |
| 💲 Ticket Revenue | $0 | $25 per ticket sold | t = tickets sold |
| 👔 Merchandise | $600 production | $8 profit per item | m = merch items sold |
🌟 Challenge: Write a single expression
for the festival's profit (Total Revenue minus
Total Costs for ALL categories combined). Simplify it as much as
possible.
Remember: Total Cost = Base Cost + (Per-Unit Cost ×
Variable). For Artist Booking: $2,000 + $500 × a = 2000 +
500a
Phase 2: Research & Discover
Evaluate expressions to research costs and make decisions.
Expression Evaluator Calculator
Enter an expression to evaluate...
Use * for multiplication, / for division, + for addition, - for
subtraction. Parentheses ( ) work too!
4
Artist Booking Research
You're deciding how many artists to book. The cost expression is
2000 + 500a. Evaluate this
expression for different values of
a.
| Number of Artists (a) | Expression | Show Your Work | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 artists | 2000 + 500(4) | ||
| 6 artists | 2000 + 500(6) | ||
| 8 artists | 2000 + 500(8) | ||
| 10 artists | 2000 + 500(10) |
📚 Support: To evaluate 2000 + 500(4),
replace a with 4: 2000 + 500 × 4. First multiply:
500 × 4 = 2,000. Then add: 2,000 + 2,000 = 4,000. The total
cost is $4,000.
5
Sound & Stage Analysis
The sound/stage cost is 3500 + 200h.
You're planning festival hours. Evaluate and compare options.
The coefficient of h tells you the cost per hour. In
3500 + 200h, the coefficient 200 means each hour costs $200.
6
Revenue Projections
Your ticket revenue expression is
25t and merchandise revenue is
8m - 600 (subtracting production
costs). Complete the revenue table.
| Scenario | Tickets (t) | Merch Items (m) | Ticket Revenue | Merch Revenue | Total Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Festival | 500 | 200 | |||
| Medium Festival | 1,000 | 400 | |||
| Large Festival | 2,000 | 800 |
🌟 Challenge: If you want to earn at least
$40,000 in total revenue, what combination of ticket sales and
merch sales would work? Write and evaluate at least two different
combinations.
Phase 3: Plan & Design
Use expressions to plan your festival's lineup, layout, and
budget.
Festival Budget Planner
7
Combining & Simplifying Festival Costs
Your festival has multiple cost categories. Combine them into one
simplified expression.
📝 Combining All Costs
Artist Booking: 2000 + 500a
Sound & Stage: 3500 + 200h
Food Vendors: 800 + 150v
Total Cost = (2000 + 500a) + (3500 + 200h) + (800 +
150v)
📚 Support: When you see constants
(numbers without variables), you can add them together: 2000 +
3500 + 800 = 6,300. The variable terms (500a, 200h, 150v) all have
different variables, so they CANNOT be combined further.
Group constants together: 2000 + 3500 + 800 = 6300. Since 500a,
200h, and 150v all have different variables, they stay as they
are. Final answer: 6300 + 500a + 200h + 150v
8
Design Your Festival Lineup
Create your festival lineup! Each artist gets performance time
based on this expression:
30 + 15p minutes, where
p is the artist's popularity rating
(1-5).
| # | Artist Name (Create your own!) | Genre | Popularity (p: 1-5) | Performance Time | Show Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 |
Total =
minutes =
🌟 Challenge: Write an expression for the
TOTAL performance time of all 6 artists using the expression 30 +
15p for each. Simplify: 6(30) + 15(p1 + p2 + p3 + p4 + p5 + p6).
What's the simplified form?
9
Ticket Pricing Strategy
Design your ticket pricing tiers. Use expressions to model revenue
for each tier.
🌟
General Admission
Standard access
Price per ticket
⭐
VIP Pass
Front row + backstage
Price per ticket
💎
Platinum Elite
All-access + meet & greet
Price per ticket
Phase 4: Build & Create
Build your complete festival plan using expressions at every step.
10
Festival Grounds Map
Design your festival layout. The festival grounds are a
rectangular area. Use expressions to calculate the area and plan
zones.
11
Build the Performance Schedule
Create the time schedule for your festival. Between each
performance, there's a 15-minute changeover. The
total time expression for n artists with popularity ratings is:
Total = n(30) + 15(sum of p-values) + 15(n - 1)
for changeovers.
🌟 Challenge: If you add a 30-minute
opening ceremony and a 20-minute fireworks finale, write a new
expression for total event time and evaluate it.
12
Merchandise Profit Calculator
Design merchandise for your festival. The profit per item =
selling price - cost to make.
| Item | Cost to Make | Selling Price (You Choose) | Profit Per Item | If you sell 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 👕 T-Shirt | $8 | $12 | $1,200 | |
| 🎨 Poster | $3 | $7 | $700 | |
| 🧢 Hat | $5 | $10 | $1,000 | |
| 🔔 Wristband | $1 | $4 | $400 |
13
Complete Festival Budget — Profit or Loss?
Time to put it all together! Calculate your complete festival
finances.
🔴 TOTAL EXPENSES
Total: $0
🟢 TOTAL REVENUE
Total: $0
Phase 5: Present & Reflect
Review your festival portfolio and submit your project.
Festival Production Score
--
out of 100 points
Expression Writer
Evaluator Pro
Festival Designer
Budget Master
Complete Producer
14
Self-Assessment Rubric
Rate your own work on each skill. Click a score for each category.
Writing Expressions
1
I struggled to write expressions
2
I wrote some expressions with help
3
I wrote expressions correctly
4
I wrote complex expressions with ease
Evaluating Expressions
1
I couldn't evaluate expressions
2
I evaluated with some errors
3
I evaluated correctly most times
4
I evaluated perfectly every time
Simplifying Expressions
1
I didn't understand simplifying
2
I simplified simple expressions
3
I simplified multi-term expressions
4
I simplified complex expressions confidently
Real-World Application
1
I didn't connect math to the festival
2
I made some connections
3
I applied math well to decisions
4
Every decision was math-driven
15
Reflection Journal
Write thoughtful reflections about your learning.
🎶
Festival Production Complete!
Export and submit your project below.
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