Read the Equation
The equation 4 x 3 = 12 compares 12 to 3. How many times as great is 12 as 3?
4 times as great. The equation shows 12 is 4 groups of 3.
Noah has 2 toy cars. Ava has 4 times as many. How many toy cars does Ava have?
a = 2 x 4; Ava has 8 toy cars.
Sam has 4 marbles. Parker has 3 times as many. What operation will find Parker's marbles, and how many does he have?
Multiply. p = 3 x 4; p = 12 marbles.
Additive. "4 more" describes adding 4.
A student says 3 x 5 = 15 means 3 is 5 more than 5. Is this student correct? Explain.
No. 3 x 5 = 15 means 15 is 3 TIMES as many as 5, not 3 more than 5.
In 5 x 6 = 30, explain how 30 compares to 6.
30 is 5 times as many as 6.
A small fish is 3 inches long. A large fish is 5 times as long. How long is the large fish?
l = 5 x 3; the large fish is 15 inches long.
One plant is 24 centimeters tall. It is 6 times as tall as a seedling. How tall is the seedling?
Divide. 24 / 6 = h OR 6 x h = 24; h = 4 centimeters tall. The plant is 6 times the height of the seedling.
"Lena has 4 times as many shells as Max." Is this an additive or multiplicative comparison?
Multiplicative. "4 times as many" describes 4 equal groups.
Write an equation for: "A number of stickers, s, is 4 times 6."
s = 4 x 6. The unknown number of stickers is 4 groups of 6.
A garden has 7 rows of flowers with 4 flowers in each row. Write a multiplication equation and tell how many flowers there are.
4 x 7 = f; f = 28 flowers. There are 7 groups of 4.
Eli read 6 pages. His sister read 4 times as many pages. How many pages did she read? Write an equation with an unknown.
p = 4 x 6; p = 24 pages.
A blue team has 7 players. It is 2 times as many players as the red team. How many players are on the blue team? Write an equation with an unknown.
Multiply. b = 7 x 2; b = 14 players. The blue team has 2 groups of 7 players.
Max has 6 shells. Lena has 4 more shells. Write an equation with an unknown for Lena's number of shells and solve.
l = 6 + 4; l = 10 shells. The comparison adds 4.
A dog weighs 8 kilograms. A puppy weighs 2 kilograms. The dog ways how many times as much as the puppy? Write an equation with an unknown.
8 = 2 x 4, so the dog weighs 4 times as much as the puppy.
A tape diagram has 3 equal boxes, each labeled 8. Draw the tape diagram and write an equation to find number "n".
n = 3 x 8; n = 24. The total is 3 times one box's amount.
A red ribbon is 7 centimeters long. A blue ribbon is 6 times as long. How many centimeters long is the blue ribbon?
b = 6 x 7; b = 42 centimeters long.
A baker made 36 muffins, which is 4 times as many as a smaller batch. How many muffins were in the smaller batch?
Divide. 36 / 4 = m OR 4 x m = 36; m = 9 muffins.
Max has 6 shells. Lena has 4 times as many. Write an equation with an unknown for Lena's number of shells and solve.
l = 6 x 4; l = 24 shells. The comparison uses 4 groups of 6.
28 = 4 x n; n = 7. 4 equal groups of 7 equals 28.
A library has 9 shelves with the same number of books on each shelf. There are 8 books per shelf. Write an equation representing the unknown total number of books in the library.
t = 9 x 8; t = 72 books. The total is 9 times the number of books on one shelf.
A game has 8 levels. Each level has the same number of stars. If there are 9 stars per level, how many stars are there altogether? Show how the total compares to the stars in one level.
s = 8 x 9; s = 72 stars. The total is 8 times the stars in one level.
A ribbon is 5 times as long as a 9-centimeter strip. How long is the ribbon? Write an equation.
Multiply. r = 5 x 9; r = 45 centimeters. 5 groups of 9 make the ribbon.
Omar has 5 fewer cards than Jay. Jay has 17 cards. Is this additive or multiplicative? Write an equation with an unknown for Omar's cards and solve.
Additive. "5 fewer" means subtract 5: o = 17 - 5; o = 12 cards.
A student writes 7 + 3 = 10 for the problem, "There are 7 red balloons and 3 times as many blue balloons." Identify the mistake, write a correct equation with an unknown for the blue balloons, and solve.
The student added 3 instead of multiplying by 3. b = 3 x 7; b = 21 blue balloons. "3 times as many" means 3 groups of 7, so we need to multiply.