Packing cherries

Packing cherries

Auto-markingPencil and paperOnline interactive
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about solving maths problems using multiplication and division.
illustration: box of cherries
Workers picked boxes of cherries in the Heremia's orchard and packed them into cartons.
 

Question 1Change answer

a)  Yesterday 3 workers picked 12 boxes of cherries each.
The boxes were then packed into cartons for the market, with 4 boxes in each carton.
How many cartons were packed for the market?  cartons

Question 2Change answer

b)  If 3 workers picked 16 boxes of cherries each, how many cartons would be packed?
      cartons.

Question 4Change answer

c)  If 5 workers picked 12 boxes of cherries each, how many cartons would be packed?
      cartons

Question 6Change answer

d)  If 21 full cartons were sent off to the market, how many boxes were needed to fill all these cartons?
      boxes
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper or online (with auto-marking displayed to students).
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
Maths, Number and Algebra, Number Strategies
Keywords: 
multiplication, division
Description of task: 
Students use multiplication and division to work out the number of boxes of cherries picked, and cartons filled.
Curriculum Links: 
This resource can help to identify students' ability to apply additive or simple multiplicative ideas flexibly to combine or partition whole numbers to solve multiplication and division problems.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Multiplicative thinking, sets 4-5
within the Mathematics Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
 
Y6 (06/1997)
Y7 (06/1997)
a) 9 difficult difficult
b) 12 difficult difficult
c) 15 difficult difficult
d) 84 difficult moderate
Diagnostic and formative information: 
   Common error Likely calculation Likely reason
a)
b)
c)		 3
4
3		 12 ÷ 4
16 ÷ 4
12 ÷ 4		 Does not multiply by the number of workers.
a)
b)
c)		 36
48
60		 12 × 3
16 × 3
15 × 5		 Does not divide by number of boxes per carton, i.e., answer given is the number of boxes.
d) 5, 5 1/4, 5r1 21 ÷ 5 Confuses boxes and cartons.