Max Maths, Year 5, Learn together, Word problems (2)

In an engaging exercise from Max Maths for Year 5, students are presented with a division problem that encourages them to explore the concepts of grouping and sharing. Tya, Toby, Samir, and Jade have a total of $360, and the task is to determine how much money each person receives if they are to have an equal share. The problem can be approached in different ways, and one suggested method is to group the money by halving the total amount twice. Starting with $360, it is halved to $180, and then each $180 is halved again, resulting in $90 for each individual. This method of halving and then halving again is a form of grouping.

Alternatively, the problem can be solved by sharing the money equally. Since 36 divided by 4 equals 9, then $360 divided by 4 would yield $90 for each child. This demonstrates that sharing $360 between four children results in each child receiving $90. The lesson continues with a practical application: Tya, Padma, and Samir have 255 buttons to divide equally. By opting to share the buttons this time, they start by distributing 50 buttons to each child, subtracting 150 from the total. This process is repeated with 30 buttons and then with 5 buttons, ensuring that each step is evenly divisible by three. The exercise concludes with each child having an equal number of buttons, illustrating the sharing method of division.