Karie Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Okay, I'm only in book 3, and I can't figure these out. I'm horrible with word problems and I'm feeling like a total moron with these. Please explain these to me if you can, I'd appreciate it: 1> Laura had 24 clips more than Holly. After she gave 5 clips to Holly, Laura had twice as many clips as Holly. How many clips did Laura have left? 2. Sandy has 41 coins fewer than Wendy. If Sandy now has 13 coins more, she will have half as many coins as Wendy. How many coins does Wendy have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Okay, I'm only in book 3, and I can't figure these out. I'm horrible with word problems and I'm feeling like a total moron with these. Please explain these to me if you can, I'd appreciate it: 1> Laura had 24 clips more than Holly. After she gave 5 clips to Holly, Laura had twice as many clips as Holly. How many clips did Laura have left? 2. Sandy has 41 coins fewer than Wendy. If Sandy now has 13 coins more, she will have half as many coins as Wendy. How many coins does Wendy have? :lol: Please don't feel bad. These are hard. I'm laughing because I have seen this problem come up MANY times on this board ... and I think I posted it once myself! Now if I can remember how we solved it ... let me think a minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karie Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 I think I figured out the first one. The second one, I'm wondering if the answer in the back of the book is correct. I keep coming up with 54, but the back of the book says 56. If the answer is 56, then I'm really screwed up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 First of all, I know how you feel! I couldn't believe that I can't solve a 3rd grade problem. But I was encouraged by another mom who said that the more I practiced, the easier it gets. And she is right. Still can't solve 100% of the problems, but I've been surprising myself lately with CWP 5. 1. Laura had 24 clips more than Holly. After she gave 5 clips to Holly, Laura had twice as many clips as Holly. How many clips did Laura have left? First draw the bars: Before: Laura /-----------------/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Singapore maths has a forum for asking questions just like this. Jenny is great at explaining how to do the problems. This comes up a lot here. Most of us weren't taught how to solve math problems the way CWP does them. Is this your first year with CWP? If so, I suggest backing up to 2. That is the level my dd and I are on. We enjoy them, but somedays I still have to look at the answer and backtrack how to solve it. Make sure you work the sample problems at the beginning of the section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Well, let's go to the second one since you figured out the first one. 2. Sandy has 41 coins fewer than Wendy. If Sandy now has 13 coins more, she will have half as many coins as Wendy. How many coins does Wendy have? Before: Sandy /-----------/ Wendy/-----------/------41------/ After Sandy /----------/-13-/ Wendy/---------------/--------------/ Substitute Sandy's bar into Wendy's bar. Since Sandy's is half of Wendy's, we can say 2 of Sandy's is equal to Wendy. Sandy /----------/-13/ Wendy/----------/-13/----------/-13/ From the info given, we know that the part of Wendy in red is 41. So 41-(13+13)=15. Each unit is 15. 15+15+13+13 = 56. Wendy has 56 coins. Hope I explained it clearly. You can also go to the Singapore Math forums and look for the answers there. Jenny is great at explaining things. :-)Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 We're muddling through CWP 3 also (we did CWP 2 last year). Thanks, Anna, for your explanation. Karie, last week we really struggled with Jason & Bob and their 193 marbles. We only do CWP on Fridays...oh, no, that is tomorrow!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peri Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Okay, I'm only in book 3, and I can't figure these out. I'm horrible with word problems and I'm feeling like a total moron with these. Please explain these to me if you can, I'd appreciate it: 1> Laura had 24 clips more than Holly. After she gave 5 clips to Holly, Laura had twice as many clips as Holly. How many clips did Laura have left? 2. Sandy has 41 coins fewer than Wendy. If Sandy now has 13 coins more, she will have half as many coins as Wendy. How many coins does Wendy have? What grade level is this supposed to be? These problems are on the algebraic level! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 What grade level is this supposed to be? These problems are on the algebraic level! That's the same thing I thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karie Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Grade 3. I'm so frustrated with these that I'm beginning to feel totally inadequate to teach math. My son is in 5A, but we've gone back to 3 because I can't do them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Guess that's why they named the book "Challenging"...we're only in book 1 and now I'm NOT looking forward to book 3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peri Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Wow! So does the level 5 book have calculus in it? When things are too hard it can turn your child off to math. If Singapore is gonna put out books to use for homeschoolers to use then they need to have manuals that are very detailed in giving instruction. I am glad I chose Saxon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Wow! So does the level 5 book have calculus in it? When things are too hard it can turn your child off to math. The problems are solved using bar diagrams, not algebra. I'm very impressed with the method and the wide variety of problem which can be solved with it. If Singapore is gonna put out books to use for homeschoolers to use then they need to have manuals that are very detailed in giving instruction. There are worked problems in the CWP books and Jenny Hoerst (sp?), author of the Home Instructor's Guides, is available on the SingporeMath.com boards to give detailed help with any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 The problems are solved using bar diagrams, not algebra. I'm very impressed with the method and the wide variety of problem which can be solved with it. There are worked problems in the CWP books and Jenny Hoerst (sp?), author of the Home Instructor's Guides, is available on the SingporeMath.com boards to give detailed help with any problems. :iagree: We love this aspect of Singapore. I think it builds confidence in solving word problems. The CWP has several examples at the beginning of each chapter, then starts w/easy ones, and then follows w/a few pages of 'Challenging' problems. No algebra required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fractalgal Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 2. Sandy has 41 coins fewer than Wendy. If Sandy now has 13 coins more, she will have half as many coins as Wendy. How many coins does Wendy have? I think this problem is written in a confusing way. There is before Sandy has this many, and then after Sandy has this many... Before: Sandy=Wendy-41 After: Sandy+13=Wendy-41+13=Wendy-28 Now we know that After: (Sandy+13)=(Wendy-28)=(1/2)Wendy So: 2(Wendy-28)=Wendy Therefore: 2Wendy-56=Wendy Which implies: Wendy=56 coins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4 Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Yes, there are a number of zinger word problems but majority of it can be solved by a student working at that level. As the others said, it's great for stretching your mind . As for deterring the children's interest in math, it is not so in my case. Not that my dc LOVE math. But now they see every other problem as easier than the "hard" CWP problems. They would rather solve tons of the "easy" ones than the "farmer with the ducks and chickens" problem ("Why can't the farmer just get a calculator and keep better track of his poultry??!!! " says my ds.) :-)Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato4 Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 :-) Can you ladies help me build up my rep points if you think I was of help? (Is it illegal to beg for rep points?) Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 :-) Can you ladies help me build up my rep points if you think I was of help? (Is it illegal to beg for rep points?) Anna Not sure if it's OK, technically speaking, but we won't tell. Shhhhhh. ;) Thanks for the explanations, I was really almost getting scared away from Singapore Math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Actually, when I pulled out this book for the first time (CWP 4 after Saxon 5/4) my son was thrilled. He loved it and didn't want to stop. The bar diagram method is actually quite easy once you get the hang of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 ("Why can't the farmer just get a calculator and keep better track of his poultry??!!! " says my ds.) I love that!! And I have to agree -- it's not as bad as it seems. When we were at that level, DS only did about two or three CWP problems a day. And after tackling a particularly difficult problem and emerging victorious, he really got a great little boost of pride. They're certainly meant to be a stretch, and most of the difficulty I've seen is from people who jump into the program halfway in rather than having gone through the whole thing from the beginning. We're in NEM 2 right now and no sign of DS being turned off math! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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