KA-0115Multi-step arithmetic word problems
4 points, difficulty 2 of 3Level 3–4about 75sThere are 5 boxes with 12 pencils in each. 17 pencils are given away and the rest are shared equally between 2 children. How many does each child get?
Hints
Take them one at a time. The first gives nothing away.
1A nudge
Do the steps in the order they happen.
2The strategy
Count the pencils, take away the ones given, then share what is left. Doing the sharing before the giving changes the answer, so keep to the order in the sentence.
3The full solution
5 x 12 = 60 pencils. Taking 17 leaves 43. Sharing 43 between 2 gives 21.5 each.
Solution— no shortcut on this one
Follow the steps in order. Five boxes of 12 is 5 x 12 = 60 pencils. Giving 17 away leaves 60 - 17 = 43. Sharing 43 equally between 2 children gives 43 divided by 2 = 21.5 each. The half is real and the question does not say the pencils must stay whole. The transferable idea: do the steps in the order the sentence gives them, and do not quietly round an answer that does not want to be a whole number.
Why this is on the test: Multi-step problems are lost by reordering the steps, and an answer that is not a whole number is exactly where students start guessing.