This problem solving activity has a number (addition, multiplication, and division) focus.
Kelsey loves to count.
One day Ms Martin put a pile of cubes on Kelsey’s desk.
Kelsey began to count the cubes.
She told Ms Martin the following facts about the cubes:
When I count the cubes by two I have one left over.
When I count the cubes by three I have one left over.
When I count by five I have none left over.
From this information can Ms Martin work out how many cubes Kelsey has?
This problem involves skip counting.
This kind of problem is very useful for finding number patterns. As the students go through the problem they should begin to see some patterns that will tell them more about the solution to Kelsey’s problem.
The other interesting thing about this problem is that there is redundant information. Not all of the information is helpful because it is already contained as part of other information. If students can see this it will cut down the number of calculations that they will have to make.
Kelsey loves to count. One day Ms Martin put a pile of cubes on Kelsey’s desk. Kelsey began to count the cubes. She told Ms Martin the following facts about the cubes:
When I count the cubes by two I have one left over.
When I count the cubes by three I have one left over.
When I count by five I have none left over.
From this information can Ms Martin work out how many cubes Kelsey has?
The lowest number of cubes that Kelsey could have is 25.
The students could show this on a number line or in an organised list. The lists below show that number 25 is the first number to appear in each of the number sequences described by Kelsey.
2s 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 | 3s 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 | 5s 5 10 15 20 25 |
Printed from https://meaningfulmaths.nt.edu.au/mmws/nz/resource/counting-cubes at 8:55pm on the 26th February 2024