Problem Solving
How do you use what you have learned to problem solve?
Goal:
Goal:
Can you solve a problem about same wholes? You will need a piece of lined paper. Remember the problem-solving steps to find the answer. Then, click the tabs to see how!
The fraction heroes had sleepovers. All of the boys went to Ian’s house, and all of the girls went to Alani’s house. Both groups of children decided to order pizza. Ian’s group bought an extra-large pizza to share with all 5 boys. Alani’s group ordered a large pizza to share with all 5 girls. Each child had 1 slice. Did the boys and girls have the same size slices?
Word Problem Solving Steps
- Read the problem.
- Look for important information.
- Write a math sentence (in this case, a fraction!).
- Choose a way to solve.
- Solve and label your answer.
Read the Problem
The fraction heroes had sleepovers. All of the boys went to Ian’s house, and all of the girls went to Alani’s house. Both groups of children decided to order pizza. Ian’s group bought an extra-large pizza to share with all 5 boys. Alani’s group ordered a large pizza to share with all 5 girls. Each child had 1 slice. Did the boys and girls have the same size slices?
Let’s read through the problem and then read it again. Imagine the problem in your head as you read.
Find the Important Information
Now let’s find the important information in the problem.
The fraction heroes had sleepovers. All of the boys went to Ian’s house, and all of the girls went to Alani’s house. Both groups of children decided to order pizza. Ian’s group bought an extra-large pizza to share with all 5 boys. Alani’s group ordered a large pizza to share with all 5 girls. Each child had 1 slice. Did the boys and girls have the same size slices?
- We know that the boys ordered an extra-large pizza.
- We know that the girls ordered a large pizza.
- We also know that each child ate 1 slice of pizza.
Chose a Way to Solve
Since we do not have a math sentence to write, we can skip to finding a way to solve. We can use a drawing to help us solve the problem.
We want to find out if the boys and girls are getting the same amount of pizza, so we are going to look at the same-size wholes to find our answer.
Let’s draw a picture to show each pizza.
Draw the pizzas, and click the Show Me button to see how you did.
| First, let's draw the extra-large pizza. It is a pretty big pizza. | Next, let's draw the large pizza. A large is a bit smaller than an extra-large. |
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Solve to Find Your Answer
The fraction heroes had sleepovers. All of the boys went to Ian’s house, and all of the girls went to Alani’s house. Both groups of children decided to order pizza. Ian’s group bought an extra-large pizza to share with all 5 boys. Alani’s group ordered a large pizza to share with all 5 girls. Each child had 1 slice. Did the boys and girls have the same size slices?
Are these the same whole? Let’s look at our pizza drawings.
We know that to be the same whole, the models need to be the same shape and the same size.
Are the pizzas the same shape? Click the Show Me button to check your answer.
Yes! Both of the pizzas are circles.
So one part of being the same whole is met. Both are circles. To be the same whole, they must be the same size as well.
Are the pizzas the same size? Click the Show Me button to check your answer.
No! The pizzas are not the same size. You can see that one pizza fits inside the other!
The fraction heroes had sleepovers. All of the boys went to Ian’s house, and all of the girls went to Alani’s house. Both groups of children decided to order pizza. Ian’s group bought an extra-large pizza to share with all 5 boys. Alani’s group ordered a large pizza to share with all 5 girls. Each child had 1 slice. Did the boys and girls have the same size slices?
No! Since the pizzas are not the same whole, we can say that the boys and girls did not have the same size slices.
Question:
Now that you know they are not the same whole, do you think the boys or girls got more pizza?
The boys got more pizza since their pizza was bigger. The boys and girls would have gotten the same amount of pizza if the pizzas were the same wholes.
Now use the steps to try solving a problem on your own! Read the word problem below. Use what you know about same wholes to solve the problem. Click the Show Me button when you are done to see if you are correct!
Alani helped her aunt make flatbread pizzas. They worked together to make the dough and add the sauce and the toppings. Alani used a large cookie sheet to make her pizza. Her aunt also used a large cookie sheet! Do both of their flatbread pizzas have the same amount of pizza?
Click the Show Me button to check your answer.
Yes! Both flatbreads were made on large cookie sheets! Both cookie sheets are rectangles, and both are a large size!