A carnival could make a lot of money off Randy Hilzendeger's math class.

Out of 11 students in his class Tuesday, only four made enough free throws to earn a stuffed animal, according to the rules Hilzendeger set up for the exercise. The students are taking Math for the 21st Century, a hands-on approach to math.

"I want to make sure I know simple math before I go on," junior Christina Poberezhnik said.

The class builds on algebra I skills and prepares the students for algebra II if they feel they aren't ready for the more advanced class. It's geared toward students who are taking more hands-on classes at the technical center and want to learn how math relates to the real world.

"It's a lot more hands-on and experimental," Hilzendeger said.

The class started with students converting fractions, then he had the students figure out their free throw percentage with two sizes of metal cans and crumpled paper balls. They converted their results after 15 shots into a percentage, then used the percentage to figure out how well they'd do shooting 100 or more shots.

Compared to the math classes he teaches at Century High School, this class is smaller and relies less on textbooks to learn. He teaches two sections with 15 to 18 students per class. At Century, his classes average 20 to 28 students, he said.

After the students recorded their free throw percentage, Hilzendeger showed them how the odds are stacked against them in carnival games. He gave students four shots at getting the balls into one of nine containers. If they sunk two or more balls, they'd "earn" a prize. Three students sunk two balls and one student sunk three balls. None of the students made all four shots into the containers that would win the imaginary large stuffed animal.

Based on the class' statistics, they figured out how much money a carnival would make if it had 100, 300 or 500 people pay $1 for four throws and stuffed animals cost 50 cents. The carnival made money every time.

"It's, like, not really working with numbers," senior Danielle Kraft said. "It's stuff you're actually going to use."

The Tuesday afternoon class meets in an agriculture classroom, while an earlier section meets in an electronics classroom. When the school district opens its new career and technical center across the street, there will be a dedicated classroom for the math class.

"We went from one to three sections" this school year, technical center director Dale Hoerauf said. "If we had the space, we could add another couple sections."

The class was started last year and has grown in popularity.

The class uses real-world tasks the students would use in other technical center classes to get the concepts across. For instance, they will measure the counter tops and cabinetry in the house the carpentry class builds, or use surveying equipment to determine the height of the house.

Some students who take the class, though, do not take any other classes at the technical center. Sometimes, that changes after they've taken the math class, Hoerauf said.

Pobeerzhnik plans to go to college and possibly become a pediatrician. The basic math skills she's learning in this class will help her with more advanced math classes and science classes that she'd need to take to become a doctor.

Eventually, math content will be more integrated into other career and technical center classes, Hoerauf said. The Math for the 21st Century class counts toward the math requirement for graduation.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)