Master the art of solving complex word problems that require multiple steps and different operations. Become a problem-solving detective!
Meet the Problem-Solving Squad! Maya, Alex, and Sarah are organizing a school fundraiser. They need to figure out how much money they'll raise if they sell 15 cookies at $2 each, then buy supplies for $8, and finally donate half of the remaining money to charity. This is a multi-step problem that requires addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division! Let's help them solve it step by step.
Multi-step problems are word problems that require you to perform more than one mathematical operation to find the answer. You need to think through the problem carefully and decide which operations to use and in what order.
Think of it like this: Multi-step problems are like following a recipe - you need to do each step in the right order to get the final result!
Read and understand the problem
What are you trying to find? What information do you have?
Plan your solution
What operations will you use? In what order?
Solve step by step
Work through each operation carefully
Check your answer
Does your answer make sense? Can you verify it?
Maya, Alex, and Sarah are organizing a fundraiser. They sell 15 cookies at $2 each, then spend $8 on supplies. They want to donate half of the remaining money to charity. How much will they donate?
We need to find how much money they'll donate to charity.
1) Find total money from cookies 2) Subtract supplies cost 3) Find half for donation
Answer: They will donate $11 to charity
A teacher buys 4 boxes of pencils. Each box has 12 pencils. She gives 8 pencils to students and puts the rest in the supply closet. How many pencils are in the supply closet?
We need to find how many pencils are left in the supply closet.
1) Find total pencils 2) Subtract pencils given to students
Answer: There are 40 pencils in the supply closet
For this problem, plan the steps you would take:
Problem: A store has 50 apples. They sell 3 bags with 8 apples each, then receive a delivery of 25 more apples. How many apples do they have now?
Create a multi-step problem using these numbers: 20, 4, 5, 12
Make sure your problem:
Take time to understand what the problem is asking before you start solving.
Think about what needs to happen first, second, and so on. Plan before you solve!
Always ask: "Does this answer make sense?" and try to verify it.
Multi-step problems require patience. Work through each step carefully.
A bakery makes 24 cupcakes. They sell 3 boxes with 6 cupcakes each, then make 15 more cupcakes. How many cupcakes do they have now?
A class has 30 students. They form 5 equal groups for a project, then 3 students join the class. How many students are in each group now?