Problem Solving
How do you use what you have learned to problem solve?
Goal:
Goal:
Practice!
Goal: Apply what you have learned about using line plots to solve a word problem.
Caleb and Madelyn are just starting to learn how to read line plots. They are getting ready for the big class picnic. Their principal gives them a line plot to help get the lunches ready for their classmates. Let’s read the word problem to see how they can use the line plot to figure out how many students are going on the trip.
Word Problem Solving Steps
- Read the problem.
- Look for important information.
- Write a math sentence (or line plot in this case!).
- Choose a way to solve.
- Solve and label your answer.
Read the Problem
Caleb and Madelyn are getting ready for their big class picnic. They need to pack the coolers to put on the bus. The principal gave them a line plot that shows them how much of each item that they will need to put in the coolers for the picnic. Look at the line plot. If each student will receive one sandwich, how many students are going on the picnic?
Click image to enlarge
The first step is to read the problem. Then go back and read it again. The more you read the problem, the more you can understand what you need.
Find the Important Information
Caleb and Madelyn are getting ready for their big class picnic. They need to pack the coolers to put on the bus. The principal gave them a line plot that shows them how much of each item that they will need to put in the coolers for the picnic. Look at the line plot. If each student will receive one sandwich, how many students are going on the picnic?
Click image to enlarge
Next, you need to look for the important information. The problem has all of the information you need. There are numbers, key words, and a question. Write them on your paper. Click the Show Me button to see how you did!
Caleb and Madelyn are getting ready for their big class picnic. They need to pack the coolers to put on the bus. The principal gave them a line plot that shows them how much of each item that they will need to put in the coolers for the picnic. Look at the line plot. If each student will receive one sandwich, how many students are going on the picnic?
Write a Math Sentence
Caleb and Madelyn are getting ready for their big class picnic. They need to pack the coolers to put on the bus. The principal gave them a line plot that shows them how much of each item that they will need to put in the coolers for the picnic. Look at the line plot. If each student will receive one sandwich, how many students are going on the picnic?
Click image to enlarge
You need to answer the question, “How many students are going on the picnic?” We know that each student will receive one sandwich. There is a lot of information on the line plot. The only information you need in order to create your own math sentence or line plot is the information about sandwiches.
Create a new line plot that has only the number of sandwiches on it. This will help you focus on finding the answer to the question. Click the Show Me button to see if your line plot matches.
There are 5 ham sandwiches, 3 turkey sandwiches, and 4 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Your line plot should look like this.
Cropped portion of line plot.
Ham sandwich: 5. Turkey sandwich: 3. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: 4.
Choose a Way to Solve
Cropped portion of line plot.
Ham sandwich: 5. Turkey sandwich: 3. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: 4.
When you look at a line plot, you need to find the information that helps you answer the question. Sometimes you need to look at more than one piece of data to get the answer.
In this math problem, you need to look at three different pieces of data, or sandwich types, on the line plot! You need to look at all of the Xs for the ham sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. You then need to add all of the sandwiches. A good strategy is to start with the bottom X and count up until there are no more Xs left in the column. Then, move to the next column and start at the bottom again. Do this until you have counted all of the sandwiches. Click on the Show Me button to see how you did.
Did you count all of the sandwiches like this? We started counting at the bottom of the ham sandwich label and went up until we counted all of the Xs. We then moved over to the turkey sandwich label and counted all of the Xs there, starting at the bottom. Last, we counted all of the Xs for the peanut butter & jelly sandwiches on the line plot to get the total number of sandwiches.
Cropped portion of line plot.
Ham sandwich: 5. Turkey sandwich: 3. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: 4. Total of 12 Xs.
Solve and Label Your Answer
Caleb and Madelyn are getting ready for their big class picnic. They need to pack the coolers to put on the bus. The principal gave them a line plot that shows them how much of each item that they will need to put in the coolers for the picnic. Look at the line plot. If each student will receive one sandwich, how many students are going on the picnic?
Click image to enlarge
There are 5 ham sandwiches, 3 turkey sandwiches, and 4 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. There are 12 sandwiches in total. If each student will receive one sandwich, how many students are going on the picnic? Click Show Me to see!
If there are 12 sandwiches and each student will receive one sandwich, that means there are 12 students going on the class picnic.
Try to solve the next problem on your own.
Question:
How many fruit items do Caleb and Madelyn need to pack for the picnic? Click Show Me to see!
Click image to enlarge
You will need to count the number of apples and bananas to get this answer. There are 7 apples and 5 bananas. There are 12 pieces of fruit in total.