The Serum Run

 In 1925, airplane engines were cooled with water. Water freezes at a temperature of 32º Fahrenheit. Average winter low temperatures in Alaska are 50º colder than that. What is Average winter low temperature in Alaska?

In the 1920s, sled dog teams delivered mail to remote cities like Nome in the winter. The lowest temperature most sled dogs can run in is -71ºF. That’s 21º colder than the coldest it gets in Alaska in winter. What’s the winter low temperature in Alaska?

Sled dogs have thick fur to keep them warm. But they can overheat while running if it’s too warm outside. The maximum temperature the dogs can run in is 71º higher than their minimum of -71ºF. What is the maximum temperature that they can run in?   

Just before midnight, the first musher, William “Wild Bill” Shannon, left Nenana. It was -50ºF. When he took his first break, it was 12º colder. What was the temperature?

While in transit, the antitoxin had to stay between 36ºF and 46ºF. The dogsled teams stopped along the route often to warm the antitoxin by a fire to prevent it from freezing. A range of how many degrees Fahrenheit was ideal for the antitoxin?

During his leg of the run, Shannon developed hypothermia, a dangerous condition caused by extreme cold. Normal body temperature is 98.5ºF. During hypothermia, it falls by at least 3.5º. If his temperature dropped by that amount, what was Shannon’s body temperature with hypothermia?

When musher Edgar Kallands arrived at Manley Hot Springs, the owner had to pour hot water over his mittens to melt them free of his sled’s handlebar. At the start of his leg of the relay, the temperature was -62ºF. When his leg was over, it was 6º warmer. What was the temperature at the end of his run?

Musher Leonhard Seppala lived in Nome but traveled over the frozen sea ice of Norton Sound to Shaktoolik, where he picked up the antitoxin for his leg of the relay. When Seppala left Nome, it was -20ºF. In Shaktoolik, the windchill, or temperature with the wind factored in, made it feel 105º colder. What was the windchill temperature in Shaktoolik?

During his leg, musher Charlie Olson’s sled overturned. He got frostbite trying to get his sled and the vials back together. Frostbite occurs when skin is exposed to temperatures -15ºF or lower for too long. At that point in the race, the windchill temperature was 55º colder than the warmest temperature at which frostbite occurs. What was the windchill temperature?

The  highest temperature along the route was -20ºF in Nome. The lowest was 65º colder. What was the coldest temperature on the route?

The antitoxin was heated to 90ºF before it was given to patients. It was 58º colder when it arrived in Nome. What temperature was that?

Write and solve your own question with positive and negative integers using any of the numbers in the previous panels.