Candies Division: A Math Problem for Kids

Introduction

Mathematics is made easier with real-world problems. Consider a scenario where kids can apply their mathematical knowledge to share items evenly among friends. Let's explore a problem related to sharing candies.

The Problem: Laura and Her Candies

Laura has a total of 23 candies. She decides to share some of them with her 4 friends equally, while keeping 7 for herself. How many candies does each of her friends receive?

Let's break down the problem step by step:

First, we need to determine how many candies Laura has left after keeping 7 for herself. 23 - 7 16 candies are left to be shared with her 4 friends. To find out how many candies each friend gets, we divide the remaining candies by the number of friends: 16 ÷ 4 4 candies per friend.

Alternative Solutions

Let's consider another set of scenarios with the same problem but different solutions:

Scenario 1: Tim and His Candies

Tim also has 23 candies but keeps 5 for himself. 23 - 5 18 candies are left to be shared with his friends. He shares these 18 candies among Gabriele, Blaire, and Caryn (3 friends in total). 18 ÷ 3 6 candies per friend.

Scenario 2: Tim Keeps 5, Friends Receive 5?

Tim said he gave each of his friends the same number of candies, the same as he received. If we assume he received 5 candies, each friend would also get 5 candies. However, this conflicts with the arithmetic of his total share.

Scenario 3: Laura's Remaining Candies

If Laura kept 7 out of 23 and intended to share the rest equally, the calculation remains:

23 - 7 16 candies to be shared. 16 ÷ 4 4 candies per friend.

The key to solving this problem lies in correctly identifying the total number of candies to be shared and using proper division to get the accurate result.

Conclusion

Whether it's Laura or Tim, the core of the math problem revolves around dividing the total number of candies by the number of friends. Understanding and applying the basic principles of arithmetic, such as subtraction and division, allows children to solve real-world sharing problems easily.

Keywords

The problem of sharing candies among friends involves the following keywords that may be useful for search engines and students:

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