Learn about variables and how to work like a detective to figure out what each variable represents in a math problem!
Materials:
Pen or Pencil
Variables Worksheet (linked below!)
Time Estimated:
5-10 minutes
Directions:
Watch the Math Detective video or try the worksheet on your own first! Work through the three problems on the worksheet to discover the secret values for X and Y. Once you have an answer, write it down and move to the next box. Keep in mind that the information you learned from one problem may be used in the problems that come after!
Think Like a Mathematician!
Think about how you can use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to find the secret values for X and Y.
Are there other methods that you can use? What if you just guess? Can you get the right answer? How many guesses did it take?
How Does It Work?
In this worksheet, X and Y are variables. Variables let us represent information that we don’t know yet. You can think about variables like a box that contains some number of objects, and you have to use clues from the equations you’re given to figure out how many objects are in each box (or in other words, what each variable represents).
Further Exploration:
When mathematicians write equations that model the real world, there are often things they can’t measure or don’t have enough information to know. For example, imagine that a school bus drives at a constant speed from your bus stop to your school. You can call that speed X miles per hour because you don’t know what the speed is yet. Now you can measure how many miles the bus travels, and how much time it takes to get to the school from your bus stop, and then you can find X. Additionally, you can now use that information to figure out more problems, for example, how many miles the bus would go if it drove for twice as much time.
Activity Worksheet:
Follow along with this free, printable worksheet!
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