Mr. Wilson has presented his students with the following pro…

Mr. Wilson has presented his students with the following problem: We have a quart of pure alcohol. If we add a cup of water to the alcohol, what percent of the new mixture is alcohol? He then asks, “What do we want in this problem?” “We want the total amount of the mixture we have together,” Grayson suggests. “I think we should add up the total amount we have and then find out how much of that is alcohol,” Eva suggests. After some discussion, the class decides that the mixture is 75% alcohol. “I don’t think that’s right,” Kathy observes. “We have 5 cups of mixture altogether, and only one of those cups is water.” Mr. Wilson’s question: “What do we want?” best illustrates his attempt to help his students with which step in the problem-solving process?

Victor is six years old. His dad is a local salesman that go…

Victor is six years old. His dad is a local salesman that goes door-to-door throughout the community selling kitchen supplies and utensils. One day, little Victor’s dad tells Victor to join him so that the dad can show Victor the nature of salesmanship. Victor’s dad successfully makes a sale of a set of kitchen pans to Samantha for $150. During his sales talk with Samantha, Victor’s dad told Samantha, “this is my son, Victor, who has nearly graduated . . . . from kindergarten.”  Little Victor smiled but said nothing at all, while playing with a small toy and occasionally holding a display sign for his dad.  Three months later, Samantha sees Victor riding his bike past her house and she screams for him to stop. Samantha tells Victor how much she loves her kitchen pans and how she wants a set for her sister. Victor says nothing. Samantha gives Victor $150 to place the order. Victor still says nothing. Months go by and no pans are delivered to Samantha. Outraged, Samantha calls Victor’s dad, only to learn that he has no such order for her. Samantha demands a refund of $150. Is Victor’s dad liable to Samantha for the $150 Samantha presented to Victor?