Max Maths, Year 5, Try it, Word problems

When faced with a division problem, deciding whether to group or share can be a useful strategy to find the solution. In the example provided, Tya, Toby, Samir, and Jade have a total of $360 between them and need to divide this amount equally. One approach is to group the money by halving $360 to get $180, and then halving $180 again to arrive at $90 for each person. This method of grouping simplifies the problem into smaller, more manageable parts. Alternatively, we could share the money directly by using division. Since 36 divided by 4 equals 9, it follows that 360 divided by 4 is 90. Therefore, by sharing the $360 equally among the four children, they each receive $90.

In another scenario, Tya, Padma, and Samir have a box of 255 buttons to divide equally. This time, they opt to share the buttons. Starting with the total of 255 buttons, they initially distribute 50 buttons to each child, subtracting 150 buttons from the total. After this, they have a certain number of buttons remaining. They then share out another 30 buttons each, followed by a final distribution of 5 buttons each, ensuring that all buttons are shared out evenly. Through this process of sharing in stages, each child ends up with an equal share of the buttons, demonstrating an alternative method to grouping when solving division problems.