Carlos finds an old map and uses clues on it to follow a trail through coordinate points to locations like a rock and tree, eventually arriving at an old church. Under tiles at the church he finds a chest with more clues, including scrambled words and a table to unscramble them. The clues lead Carlos to Castle Island where he uses a scope to spot a beach and finds a cave there called Captain's Cave, opening a final chest to discover the treasure.

1. Name _____________________________________ Date ___________________
Mrs. Labuski / Mrs. Portsmore Period _______ Common Task Unit #11
Treasure Hunt
(On Core book pp. 51-53)
Carlos has heard stories about buried treasure near his hometown.
According to local legend, a pirate buried his treasure, drew a map, and hid
clues at various locations. He planned to reclaim his treasure one day, but never returned, and
the map, clues, and treasure have never been found. Recently, Carlos bought an old map at an
antique store. Could this be the legendary treasure map?
1. Locations in a Coordinate Plane.
a. Carlos copied the old map onto a coordinate
plane. Directions on the back of the map
describe distances in steps, so Carlos measures
the length of his step and sizes his grid so that
each unit represents 1 step.
The starting point on the original map
corresponds to (-5,-4). Graph this point on the
coordinate plane and label it “Start”.
b. Carlos reads the back of the original map.
What are the coordinates of Carlos’s location
after he follows the directions?
___________________________________
Graph this point on the coordinate plane and label it “Rock”.
c. Carlos finds an old piece of paper inside the rock and follws the directions on it.
What are the coordinates of Carlos’s new location? ______________________________
Graph this point on the coordinate plane and label it “Tree”.
1. FROM THE START:
15 STEPS NORTH
THEN 15 STEPS EAST
LARGE CRACK IN NEARBY
ROCK
2. 6 STEPS WEST, THEN 16 SOUTH
UNDER THE ROOTS OF AN OLD

2. 2. Distance in a Coordinate Palne.
a. Carlos measured his step length as 3 feet. How many steps has Carlos
walked so far? What is this distance in feet?
b. Under a tree root, Carlos finds a second map.
This map shows a church, a well, and a dry creek
bed. Carlos graphs these locations on his copy
of the first map as shown. Give the coordinates
of each location.
Church ______________
Well ________________
Dry creek bed _________
c. How far is the dry creek bed from the church?
__________ steps, or __________ feet
How far is the chruch from the well?
__________ steps, or __________ feet
d. Carlos finds these directions written on the back of the second map.
Carlos walks 12 steps north to find the ruins of an old church.
How many steps has Carlos walked from the starting point to the church?
What is this distance in feet?
3. WALK NORTH 12 STEPS IN ALL,
THEN GO TO THE NORTHEAST
WALL.
UNDERNEATH THE TILE FLOOR-
BURIED TREASURE? OR CLUE 4?

3. e. The crafty old pirate has sent Carlos on a long
winding route to the old church. Find a shorter
path from Carlos’s starting point to the church,
assuming that Carlos can walk only north, south,
east, or west. Draw your path on the coordinate
plane.
Describe how to follow your path from the
starting point, and find the distance in steps and in
feet.
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
3. Comparing and Ordering
a. The church’s roof has collapsed and the tile
floor is cracked. Carlos locates the northeast wall
and begins to dig. Soon he uncovers an old wooden chest. Has he found the treasure?
Carlos opens the chest and finds…several rocks and another piece of paper.
Carlos knows that Castle Island is nearby, but he does not fully understand the clue. Two of the
words are scrambled. Carlos turns the paper over and finds a table:
T O N P T H S I G H E I
0 5 10 3 12 -9 -1 8 -6 -4 -2 -7
To unscramble the words, first write the numbers in the table in order from least to greatest.
_________________________________________________________________________
Now replace each number in your list with the corresponding letter from the table.
The scrambled words are ____________________________________________________
4. CASTLE ISLAND’S EGHHIST
INOPT
AT THE TOP, USE YER SCOPE.
LOOK TO THE SOUTH.
GO TO THE PLACE YOU SEE
AND FIND ITS MOUTH.

4. b. When Carlos arrives at Castle Island, he sees this sign.
List the locations on the sign in order from the least elevation to the greatest elevation.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
The highest point on Castle Island is _______________________________________________
Its elevation is __________________ feet.
c. From the island’s highest point, Carlos looks south through his binoculars and sees a small
remote beach. Write an integer to describe Carlos’s descent to this beach.
(Assume that the beach is as sea level.) ____________________________________________
d. On the beach, there is an old wooden sign with faded letters. Carlos can barely read
Captain’s Cave, Elev. -3 ft. He sees the opening of a cave nearby. Could this be the beach’s
“mouth” described in Clue 4?
Is Captain’s Cave above or below sea level? _____________________________________
Write an inequality using the elevations to justify your answer.
_________________________________________________________________________
Is Captain’s Cave higher or lower than Bilge Basin? _______________________________
Write an inequality using the elevations to justify your answer.
_________________________________________________________________________
e. At the back of the cave, Carlos moves several large loose rocks to reveal a small recess in the
cave wall. He reaches in and pries out another old wooden chest, similar to the one he found at
the church. Is this the treasure at last? Carlos slowly opens the lid and….
IT’S THE TREASURE!!!!!
To find the treasure’s value, first rearrange the number in the table in order from least to
greatest. Then replace each number with its corresponding letter.
2 -9 5 -6 -1 9 0 -4
U A T B O E L S
The treasure has __________________________ value!!!!!