Lesson 10 — Activity 1: Patterns, Pictures, and Simplify


Getting Ready



Step 2: Think of a Plan

and

Step 3: Carry out the Plan



As you learned in the previous lesson, the second step to solving a math word problem is to think of a plan.

Strategies that can be used as you do this include looking for patterns, drawing pictures, and making the problem simpler. You will look closely at these strategies in this activity.

As you practise these strategies, you will also carry out the plan and solve the problem.



Patterns



Remember that patterns occur when something is repeated several times. They may be used to predict what may come next.

Here is an example of a problem with a pattern.


Here's a problem regarding food at a surprise party.

Seven friends are planning a surprise party for a mutual friend. They estimate that, on average, each person will eat 2 bags of chips and drink 3 cans of pop. How many bags of chips and cans of pop do they need for the party?


What is the pattern?


For each person, the number of bags of chips increases by 2 and the number of cans of pop increases by 3.


A table may be used to show this pattern:


Number of People

Bags of Chips

Cans of Pop

1

2

3

2

4

6

3

6

9

4

8

12

5

10

15

6

12

18

7

14

21

8

16

24


They will need 16 bags of chips and 24 cans of pop.



Try This:


Read this problem and find the pattern. Then use a table to show the pattern. Solve the problem and write a concluding statement.


Read through this shopping problem.

Sierra bought 1 pair of shoes, 2 pairs of jeans, and 3 shirts.

How many new outfits does Sierra have?



Image 1

Sierra has 6 new outfits.




Drawing Pictures


You can also draw pictures or use objects to represent a word problem.

Here is the above problem in a picture form:


Image 2

Make It Simpler



Some of the problems you will be asked to solve may have several parts. Solving one part of the problem at a time may make it easier to solve.

Here's a two-part problem. You'll notice the important information has been highlighted:

Sam bought 6 packs of red bouncy balls, 9 packs of yellow bouncy balls, and 7 packs of blue bouncy balls. There were 20 bouncy balls in each package. How many bouncy balls did Sam buy in all?


Steps:

1. Identify what you need to know.

  • How many of each colour of bouncy balls are there?
  • How many did Sam buy in all?



2. Solve each question.

  • Red: 6 x 20 = 120
  • Yellow: 9 x 20 = 180
  • Blue: 7 x 20 = 140


120 + 180 + 140 = 440


Sam bought 440 bouncy balls in all.

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