This is one of a series of problems I created for my grade 7 math class a few years ago. Each of my students became an agent of the “SMS” (Special Math Service), and were hunting the archvillain, Dr. Ignoramus. Each problem was presented as a “mission” for them to complete. I present this one as a download for you to try at home.

In this mission, Agents are trapped in a room filling with water, and must figure out how many buckets of water they must fill to escape, by calculating the volume of a trapezoidal bucket. Answer key is included.