The big ideaA promise of coins far bigger than the coins put in cannot be kept for everyone.
How it works
Mr. Glib's Golden Goose Club promised forty coins back for four, in a week. That is ten times more, in just seven days.
Maya asked where the forty coins come from. If ten children each put in four coins, the jar holds only forty.
Paying the first child forty empties the jar, and nine children are still promised forty each. The club needs four hundred coins, so three hundred and sixty are missing.
Coins out can never be more than coins in. A club like this can only pay early members with coins from newer members, so the last members lose their coins.
The club needs far more than it has.Warning signs and ordinary things.
Example 1: What goes in
Ten children put in 4 coins each.
10 × 4 = 40
The jar holds 40 coins, and that is every coin the club has.
Example 2: Paying the first child
The first child is promised 40 coins.
40 − 40 = 0
The jar is empty, so the nine waiting children get nothing.
Example 3: What was promised
Ten children are each promised 40 coins.
10 × 40 = 400
The club needs 400 coins but has 40.
400 − 40 = 360
So 360 coins are missing.
Example 4: Can the club pay?
A club has 60 coins and promises 30 coins each to 3 children.
3 × 30 = 90
It needs 90 coins and has only 60, so it cannot pay.
Words to know
get-rich-quick scheme
A promise of coins far bigger than the coins put in.
warning sign
Something that tells you to stop and ask a grown-up.
newer members
People who join later, whose coins pay the early ones.
missing
Needed but not there: 360 coins in the story.
Watch out
A promise is not coins. Coins out can never be more than coins in.
Magic is not an answer. Ask where the coins come from.
Any one of the warning signs means stop and ask a grown-up.
Online ones look different but work the same. Digital Life has a whole episode on online scams.
Try it
Ten children put in 4 coins each. How many coins are in the jar?
A club has 60 coins and promises 30 coins each to 3 children. Can it pay?
Name two warning signs of a get-rich-quick club.
What question did Maya ask?
Answers: 1. 40 · 2. No · 3. A huge promise and a hurry · 4. Where do the forty coins come from?
Try at homeWith a grown-up, talk about a promise that sounded too good to be true. Ask them: where would the coins come from? Look for the four signs: a huge promise, a hurry, a secret, a bonus for bringing friends.
For grown-upsTalk about a promise that sounded too good to be true, and ask together: where would the coins come from? Look for the four signs: a huge promise, a hurry, a secret, and a bonus for bringing friends.
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