Word Problem Wednesday: School Scenarios

By Mathnasium | October 21, 2020

Solutions

Excellent!  Are you ready to check your child’s answer? Look below to see if their solution matches ours.

Lower Elementary:
Answer:  200 paper triangles
Solution:  If Avery cuts the paper into 1-inch strips, she will have 10 strips of paper. If she cuts each strip into 1-inch squares, she will have 10 for each strip. That means that she will have 10 × 10 = 100 squares. If she then cuts each square in half to make 2 triangles, she will have 100 × 2 = 200 paper triangles.

Upper Elementary:
Answer:   4 students
Solution:  One third of 24 is 24 ÷ 3 = 8 students, so there are 8 students in the percussion group. Half of 24 is 12, so there are 12 students in the choir group. That leaves 24 – 8 – 12 = 4 students in the guitar group.

Middle School:
Answer:   $70.29
Solution:  Before tax, the gym uniform costs $12.50 + $20.00 + 31.40 = $63.90. To find the cost after tax, we multiply by 1.1; 1 for the price of the items, and an additional 0.1 for the tax. After tax, the uniform costs $63.90 × 1.1 = $70.29.

Algebra and Up:
Answer:  60 students
Solution:   We can solve this problem with a system of equations in which x represents the number of students in sculpture class and y represents the number of students in drawing class.

x = 1.25y
x
= y + 15

We can solve this by reasoning that since x = x, that means that 1.25y = y + 15. If we solve for y, we find that y = 60. There are 60 students in drawing class.