Addition and Subtraction - Inverse Operations - Presentation

A series of engaging teaching slides focuses on the concept of inverse operations within the realm of addition and subtraction. The presentation is designed to help students understand how to verify the correctness of their answers by employing the inverse operation. The term 'inverse' is explored, prompting students to discuss its meaning and application in mathematical operations. Throughout the lesson, students are encouraged to consider whether their answers are sensible by using inverse operations to check their work. For example, after calculating a subtraction such as 17,468 - 8,947, they are tasked with identifying the corresponding addition question that would confirm the accuracy of their result.

The lesson includes a variety of activities that require pupils to apply inverse operations in practical scenarios. One activity presents a subtraction problem and multiple addition sentences, asking students to determine which addition question matches the original subtraction. Another activity challenges students to reverse-engineer a calculation by starting with the final number and using inverse operations to find the original number. For instance, if a student adds 5,241 and subtracts 352 to arrive at 9,485, they must work backwards to discover the starting number. The slides also incorporate problem-solving tasks where students must use inverse operations to find unknown quantities, such as the high score of a player in a computer game or the number of marbles a character has. Through these exercises, students deepen their understanding of the interconnected nature of addition and subtraction, and how to apply these skills to check their work and solve problems.