This problem solving activity has a number (multiplication and division) focus.
Tripods have three legs and are used to stand cameras on.
If you had 18 legs, how many tripods could you make?
This problem involves forming groups of 3. Whether the students use repeated subtraction or repeated addition depends on the approach that they use. If they start with 18 legs and form groups of 3 until no legs are left they are modelling repeated subtraction. They are using repeated addition if they start with one tripod (3 legs) and keep adding groups of 3 until they have 18 in total.
This problem could be adapted to reflect a context of tricycles and wheels.
Tripods have three legs and are used to stand cameras on. If you had 18 legs, how many tripods could you make?
If you can see 27 legs, how many tripods are there?
When the 18 tripod legs are arranged in groups of 3 they form 6 tripods (18 ÷ 3 = 6, or 3 + 3 + 3 ... = 18).
When the 27 tripod legs are arranged in groups of 3 they form 9 tripods (27 ÷ 3 = 9, or 3 + 3 + 3 ... = 27).
Printed from https://nzmaths.co.nz/resource/tripods at 9:36pm on the 19th April 2024