Solve This Kids Problem

Off Topic
49

My kiddo was doing those at the end of the year last year. He was getting super frustrated because he kept breaking his pencil tips trying to write the answers as fast as he could. :laughing:

I could write Yeah! For each and every other part of that post too, because we entirely agree about it.

I met his teacher Thursday night at the schools open house. He seemed like a really good, easy going guy. His thing is that homework is to develop proficiency, so he doesn’t use it for grading. But if you don’t do it it will show on the test which Will affect your grade.

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50

Well, I was talking about a third grader, and the initial problem in this thread is pretty juvenile, so yea, that’s implied, lol.

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51

I am not sure you understood the context that I was referring. I’ll add some context.
Foundational “Arithmetic” skills require exercising memory through repetition, e.g, times tables, etc.

But when students begin taking algebra, far greater skills, like abstract reasoning, are required above “arithmetic” skills. Many students, even those with great arithmetic skills, find the transition to higher mathematics extremely difficult.

IMO, the educators, recognizing this, developed “new math” to begin indoctrinating abstract reasoning to the math courses. Here the students are learning the skills that, “hopefully”, make the transition to the path to calculus easier for more students.

IMO, 'Rithmetic should still be taught! AND add new math as a separate course.

Reject the tyranny of the “OR”, and embrace the genius of the “AND”

52

I fully understand the and part. I just don’t understand how it relates to the topic at hand. I agree with the truth of what you said, I just don’t see it’s relevance.

Like, if I said ‘young children should learn the basics of government, who the current president is, the 3 branches, etc’, in a thread about elementary school government education, and you started talking about how important the federalist papers are, I would have responded similarly.

53

Then my guess we are talking past each other.
My comments relate to new math. Unless much has changed all elementary students are getting it.

So, I’ll settle for not knowing how your comments relate to my comments.

54

Bump!

Here’s another.

Problem of the week #20:

3/10 people in a supermarket are children. There are 84 adults.

A. How many people are in the supermarket altogether?

B. How many more adults are there than children?

Show your work.

I’ll check back in a few hrs. to see how its going.

I solved it algebraically, @anna_5588 how would you build an equation for this?

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A. Let p be the number of people. (7/10)p=84. p=84(10/7)=840/7=120

B. Let A be the number of adults and C be the number of children. A-C= 84-120(3/10)=84-36=48

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56

Fucking math nerds.

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57

This is how I set it up in my head when I read the problem.

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58

Though young kids might not be advanced to look at this algebraically, here goes:

A.
Let x = the total number of people in the supermarket.
30% are children (or 30% of the total number of people, x)
And there are 84 adults.
Thus:

x = 0.30x + 84

Solve for x

To solve for B
Let D be the difference between the number of adults and children. From solving A, we know that 120 people were in the supermarket
Thus
D = 84 - 0.30(120)

All that said, Anna’s method is easily the quickest method, algebra skills are not required to solve either A or B.

All this from a mathematics nerd

.

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59

I did it as

(7/10 X = 84) x 10

7x = 840

X= 120

Then 3/10 X = 36

4/10 X = 48 (difference)

Etc.

60

Is everyone in the store either an adult or a child? Are there any adolescents? Seniors? Babies?

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61

This is exactly what @anna_5588 wrote just less mathematical academically written.

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62

Yeah, even when I was supposed to, I sucked at that type of notation.

63

So, the problem #20, due tomorrow was not a problem at all. Kiddo walked right through it, pre-empting me the whole way. :+1: He was able to extrapolate the info himself, piece by piece and put it all back together very simply.

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