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Work out how many babysitting hours a goal takes

  • For High school students
  • You practice Showing an example of what you want
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You want to buy a $600 laptop with babysitting money. Get exactly 3 numbered lines in plain text, under 60 words: 1. how much more you need, with the subtraction; 2. how many hours that is at your new rate, with the division; 3. how many weeks at 5 hours a week, with the division. No tips. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Using the old rate. The AI uses $12 an hour and misses Mrs. Nguyen's text. Try: Add: "My rate is now $15 an hour."
  • No math shown. The AI gives totals with no working, so you can't check them. Try: Show it: "2. Hours: $360 / $15 = 24".
  • Counting maybe-money. The AI subtracts Grandma's possible $50. Try: Add: "Don't count the birthday money."
  • Getting tips. The AI suggests a cheaper laptop or waiting for a sale. Try: Add: "No tips."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 60 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part: "each line under 14 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Uses the new rate
  • Subtracts what you have
  • Asks for hours and weeks
  • Sets the number of lines
  • Sets a word limit

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