Maths · Suggested Classes 5–8
Sustainable Transport Day 2026: A School Data Activity
The quickest route is not automatically the cheapest or most accessible. Compare the same journeys, then name what the numbers still cannot tell you.
Original BananaLearn guide · 2 November 2026
On a phone, swipe across the illustration to read every label.
Use the verified date, not an invented annual theme
World Sustainable Transport Day is observed on 26 November; in 2026 it falls on a Thursday. The United Nations describes the observance. This is an independent school-style data activity, not an official event or verified emissions calculator.
The activity uses invented journey figures to practise totals, trade-offs and evidence limits. It does not tell a child to travel a particular way. Adults decide real routes using local safety, accessibility and family circumstances.
Prepare the fictional journey cards
Give three alternatives for the same one-way journey: walking takes 35 minutes with no fare; a bus takes 22 minutes and costs 2 cost-units; a car trip takes 15 minutes and has an assigned example cost of 3 cost-units. Cost-units are fictional, not real fares or estimates of full car ownership costs.
Use paper, pencils and a timer. Allow about 30 minutes: 5 to define the data, 8 to calculate five one-way trips, 7 to compare criteria, 5 to add missing information and 5 to write a recommendation with conditions. No outing, account or device is required.
Keep the trip count consistent
Five one-way trips are five trips, not five return journeys. Walking totals 5×35=175 minutes; bus totals 110 minutes and 10 cost-units; car totals 75 minutes and 15 cost-units. Walking has zero fare in the model, but that does not establish that every real walking journey has no other practical cost.
If you change the question to five return journeys, there are ten one-way legs if outward and return data are identical. The totals would double. State that extra assumption; a return route can take a different time or use a different fare in reality.
On a phone, swipe across the illustration to read every label.
Compare one criterion at a time
For these fictional numbers, the car has the shortest journey time and walking has the lowest stated cash cost. The bus uses 35 more minutes than the car over five trips but 5 fewer cost-units. That is a trade-off, not a universal ranking.
Ask the learner to complete the sentence If our priority were ___, these data favour ___, provided ___. A recommendation should identify the chosen criterion and the information it depends on. Calling one option best without stating the criterion hides the decision.
Name the missing information
The table does not give route safety, pavement access, timetable reliability, mobility needs, weather, seating or emissions. A trip may be unavailable to a person even if its stated time or cost looks attractive. A timetable may also change the practical door-to-door duration.
Do not calculate a carbon saving from journey time alone. Emissions depend on factors the cards do not provide, including the vehicle, energy source, occupancy and distance. A full bus and a bus with one passenger cannot automatically be treated as the same per-person comparison.
Worked conditional recommendation
An example answer is In this fictional comparison, the bus costs 5 fewer units than the car over five trips, but takes 35 minutes longer. If the route and timetable meet the traveller’s needs, it could suit someone prioritising the stated cash cost while needing a motorised option.
The answer does not claim the bus is always safe, accessible or lower-carbon, because the dataset has not established those facts. A different priority may lead to a different recommendation. The reasoning should remain connected to the numbers actually supplied.
Add a new condition and revise
Introduce a fictional delay of 8 minutes on each bus journey. Its time becomes 30 minutes per trip and 150 minutes across five trips. Cost remains 10 units unless another condition changes it. Ask whether the previous recommendation still fits the stated priority.
For an extension, let the learner ask for one additional data item that would most affect their decision. They should explain why it matters before receiving an answer. This turns a calculation worksheet into an evidence-based decision task.
Share a reasoned result, not a travel instruction
The final resource should show totals, the chosen priority, an important missing factor and a conditional conclusion. Keep the fictional label beside the table when sharing it so the numbers cannot be mistaken for current local fares.
Real transport choices need local adult judgement and current information. The date source confirms the observance, not the invented journey figures. Related guides below build the calculation and sampling skills without turning a small fictional table into a general environmental claim.
Fictional journey comparison
Copy this record into a notebook. Fill each blank using your own example or the activity above.
On a phone, swipe across a wide table to see every column.
| Mode | One-way time | Cost per trip | Five trips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk | 35 minutes | 0 fare units | ___ |
| Bus | 22 minutes | 2 units | ___ |
| Car | 15 minutes | 3 units | ___ |
| Priority and missing factor | ___ | ___ | ___ |
10 questions with explained answers
Try each question first. Open the explanation to check your reasoning. These are original BananaLearn questions, not official exam questions.
When is the 2026 observance?
Check answer and reasoning
Thursday 26 November.
The UN annual date is 26 November.How many legs are five one-way trips?
Check answer and reasoning
Five.
A return journey would add another leg.Find the walking time over five trips.
Check answer and reasoning
175 minutes.
35×5=175.Find the bus time and cost.
Check answer and reasoning
110 minutes and 10 cost-units.
22×5 and 2×5.Find the car time and assigned example cost.
Check answer and reasoning
75 minutes and 15 cost-units.
15×5 and 3×5.How much time does the car save over the bus in the model?
Check answer and reasoning
35 minutes.
110−75=35.How much stated cost does the bus save over the car?
Check answer and reasoning
5 cost-units.
15−10=5.Can the table alone quantify carbon savings?
Check answer and reasoning
No.
It does not provide the necessary emissions and journey inputs.Add an 8-minute delay to each bus trip. Find the five-trip total.
Check answer and reasoning
150 minutes.
(22+8)×5=150.What must a recommendation name?
Check answer and reasoning
Its priority, evidence and relevant conditions or limits.
A bare best label hides the decision criteria.
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Sources and scope
Explanations, activities, diagrams and practice are original BananaLearn work. Class labels suggest a learning level; school sequences and current textbook editions can differ. Sources checked 2 November 2026.
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