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Welcome to today’s daily word problem by Polymath. We have created an “easy” and “hard” problem, please feel free to adapt them to suit your needs!
Easier level:
Tom had a big pizza with 8 slices. He decided to share it with his friend Lucy. First, he gave Lucy half of the pizza. How many slices did Lucy get? Then, Tom wanted to share some more and gave Lucy one-quarter of the remaining pizza. How many more slices did Lucy get? How many slices does Lucy have now in total?
Answer:
Total Pizza Slices: Tom has 8 slices of pizza.
Half of the Pizza: Tom gives Lucy half of the pizza.
Half of 8 slices is 8 ÷ 2 = 4
So, Lucy gets 4 slices.
Remaining Slices: After giving Lucy half the pizza, Tom has 8 − 4 = 4 slices left.
Quarter of the Remaining Pizza: Tom gives Lucy one-quarter of the remaining pizza.
A quarter of 4 slices is 4 ÷ 4 = 1
So, Lucy gets 1 more slice.
Total Slices Lucy Has: Add the slices Lucy got.
Lucy got 4 slices + 1 slice = 5 slices.
So, Lucy has 5 slices of pizza in total.
Tip: you may want to draw this one out on the board!
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Harder level:
Liam is planning to make a pizza and needs to buy cheese for $5.40, tomato sauce for $2.65, and a pizza base for $3.00. If Liam pays with a $20 note, how much change should he receive after buying all three items?
Answer:
Add the cost of the cheese, tomato sauce, and pizza base:
5.40 + 2.65 + 3.00 = 11.05
Subtract the total cost from the amount Liam paid:
20.00 − 11.05 = 8.95
Liam should receive $8.95 in change.
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Happy problem-solving!
Sophie and the Polymath team
P.S. you can email us at hello@polymath.how if you have any questions!