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Investigation 2

ACTIVITY

Making an Easier Problem

• 1 Solve these two problems and show your strategy.

  • a. 15 × 29 =

  • b. 38 × 16 =

• 2 Read the story below and compare it to the problems above. How would you finish Sabrina's and Yuki's strategies?

  The fourth-grade students are selling oranges to raise money for charity. The oranges come in two sizes of boxes. The large boxes contain 29 oranges each. The small boxes contain 16 oranges each.

  • a. Sabrina counts up how many large boxes the class sold and counts 15 boxes. To find out how many oranges there are in total in the large boxes, Sabrina first multiplies 15 and 30. What does Sabrina have to do to finish the problem? Write down your solution, using Sabrina's first step.

  • b. Yuki counts up how many small boxes the class sold and counts 38 boxes. Like Sabrina, he starts with an easier problem, multiplying 40 and 16. What does Yuki have to do to find how many oranges there are in total in the 38 small boxes? Write down your solution, using Yuki's first step.

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