Click here to see a new math worksheet (middle/high school level) on water usage. Great for student presentations or integration into curricula. Thanks to VRG volunteer Ellen Tattenbaum for writing these questions!

Water Usage Math Worksheet

These questions were written based on the data in:

• Chapagain A, Hoekstra A (2004) Water Footprints of Nations
  Volume One: Main Report. Value of Water Research Report Series No.16. Delft (The
  Netherlands): UNESCO – IHE Institute for Water Education.
• Aldaya M, Hoekstra A. (2009) The Water Needed to
  Have Italians Eat Pasta and Pizza. Value of Water Research Report Series No.36. Delft
  (The Netherlands): UNESCO – IHE Institute for Water Education.

As quoted in VRG’s brochure Save Our Water: The Vegetarian Way.

Answers to the questions below are at the bottom of the page.

1) How many liters of water are needed to produce each of the following?

a) A pot of coffee that contains 6 cups?

b) A sandwich consisting of 2 slices of bread with cheese?

c) An omelet made with 2 eggs and 1 tomato?

d) A 50 g serving of potato chips?

2) The number of liters of water needed to produce a glass of milk is how much more than the number of liters needed to produce a cup of coffee?

3) To the nearest tenth, the number of liters of water needed to produce a glass of apple juice is how many times the number of liters needed to produce an apple?

4) The number of liters of water needed to produce a cheese pizza is how many times the number of liters needed to produce a tomato pizza?

5) The number of liters of water needed to produce a slice of bread is what fraction of the number of liters needed to produce a slice of bread with cheese?

6) To the nearest tenth of a percent, the number of liters of water needed to produce a potato is what percent of the number of liters needed to produce a bag of potato chips?

7) The number of liters of water needed to produce a slice of bread is what percent greater than the number of liters needed to produce a potato?

8) The number of liters of water needed to produce a 3 egg omelet is how much greater than the number of liters needed to produce 2 slices of bread?

9) The number of liters of water needed to produce a cheese pizza with 300 g of hamburger meat on it is how many times the number of liters needed to produce a tomato pizza?

10) The number of liters of water needed to produce a tomato pizza is what fraction of the number of liters needed to produce a hamburger?

11) To the nearest whole percent, the number of liters of water needed to produce a sandwich with two slices of bread with 20 g of cheese is what percent of the number of liters needed to produce a hamburger with 20 g of cheese?

12) The number of liters of water needed to produce a hamburger is what percent greater than the number of liters needed to produce a cheese pizza?

Answers:

1a. Answer: 6 x 140 = 840
2b. Answer: 40 + 90 = 130
3c. Answer 2 x 135 + 13 = 283
4d. Answer: (50/200) x 185 = 46.25
2. Answer: 200 – 140 = 60
3. Answer: 190/70 = 2.7 to the nearest tenth
4. Answer: 1200/300 = 4
5. (Answer 40/90 = 4/9
6. Answer: 25/185 = 13.5%, to the nearest tenth of a percent
7. Answer: (40 – 25) /25= 60%
8. Answer: (3 x 135) – (2 x 40) = 325
9. Answer: (1200 + (2 x 2400))/300 = 20
10. Answer: 300/2400 = 1/8
11. Answer: (2 x 90)/(2400 + (2 x (90-40)) = 7% to the nearest whole percent
12. Answer: (2400 – 1200)/1200 = 100%