KnowledgeMadeFun, home

Lesson · Grade 5 · Mathematics

Writing a One-Step Equation from a Story

  • Grade 5
  • Mathematics
  • 1 min 5 s
  • British Columbia
  • BC5-MA-25

Mia has 4 shells, picks up some more and ends with 15. The video calls the unknown number x and turns each part of the story into part of the equation 4 + x = 15. It then subtracts 4 from both sides to find that Mia picked up 11 shells, and checks that 4 + 11 = 15.

Anyone can watch two lessons on the website without an account. Signing in is free, no payment and no card, and opens three a day; Plus has no limit.

Loading

Share to Google Classroom

In one sentence

The question this lesson answers

Let us turn a short story into an equation.

Mia has 4 shells.

Transcript

What the lesson says

Let us turn a short story into an equation.

Mia has 4 shells.

She picks up some more shells.

Now she has 15 shells in all.

How many shells did she pick up?

We do not know that number yet, so we call it x.

She starts with 4 shells, so we write 4.

Picking up more shells adds to them, so we write plus x.

In all means the total, so it all equals 15.

So the equation is 4 plus x equals 15.

To solve it, subtract 4 from both sides, so x equals 11.

So Mia picked up 11 shells.

Check it: 4 plus 11 is 15, so the answer is right.

Call the unknown x, write the equation, then solve it and check it.

Curriculum

Where this fits

British Columbia, Grade 5

Mathematics, Patterns and algebra: one-step equations with variablesBC5-MA-25

Previous: Solving One-Step Equations

The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.

Keep going

More on this topic