Numeral expressions and equations- our first unit
Dear Families
When you shop at the grocery store and place items on the check out you don't ask if it matters that the bread is added before the milk. This is because you know the order you add the items doesn't matter- but you may not realize you are using one of the mathematical properties of addition!
You and your student can have fun relating the day-to-day mathematics you use to other number properties. For example, you can ask your student:
- “Does it matter if the cashier adds three cans of peas one at a time or multiplies the price of one can by three?” Your student may answer, “The total is the same either way.”
- “If you take three apples from the display and put two back, is that the same as taking two apples from the display and putting three back? How does that make subtraction different?” Your student may answer, “Order does matter with subtraction. You can’t put back more than you took originally!”
- “Does it matter if you multiply the price of an item you buy by the quantity or if you multiply the quantity by the price?” Your student may answer, “The total price is the same either way. Order doesn’t matter when you multiply.”
- “Does order matter with division? If you divide the price of a pack of pudding cups by the number of pudding cups will you get the same answer if you divide the number of pudding cups by the price?” Your student may answer, “No, the answers are different, so order does matter with division.”
Your student will be studying concepts like these in math class. See if you and your student can find other examples of mathematical properties or formulas in your
day-to-day life.