Question P5–P6 The equal concept
Today’s problem — free all day, every step. Every day has one.
of a box of red marbles equals of a box of blue marbles. The box of red marbles contains 30 marbles. How many blue marbles are there?
Answer
27 blue marbles.
The question tells you a part of one pile equals a part of another.
In this one. When two fractions of two different wholes are equal, work out the number they both equal from the side you know, then climb back up the other side.
Two different groups each get their own fraction or percentage, and the question links them with 'the same as', 'twice as many as', or a shared cost across different units.
Children compare the two fractions without first relating them to a common whole. A smaller fraction of a larger group can be bigger than a larger fraction of a smaller group.
Worked examples of all 33 patterns and skills, in a booklet you can print.