I’m sure you’ve done or heard of people using their classroom as a basis for problem solving. How much would it cost to paint/wallpaper/carpet the room?

What about the literal cost of flooring a room?

Image credit: Pinterest

Many people have calculated that it is cheaper to use 1 cent coins rather than buy tiles. There are many examples collected together here: Keytoflow

I think this idea could be adapted to look at different sizes of coin, areas and tessellation. Even simple circular coins can tessellate in different ways – how much does this affect the cost? This is also an open task which could lead to some great strategies and discussions.

Update
@LearningMaths suggests students could investigate the percentage area covered by different types of coin. A great extension idea!