How would Common Core explain this situation?
Three men went fishing for the day and were so tired at the end of the day they decided to get a little sleep before the long drive home.
They split the cost of a $30 a day room and each paid $10.
Later the hotel clerk discovers he had overcharged them because the room cost is only $25.
He takes five $1 bills to the room and explains his error. Each of the men take $1 back and tip the clerk the remaining $2.
That means each of the three men spent $9 for their share of the room for a total of $27. The clerk received a $2 tip. That adds up to $29.
Where did the other dollar out of the initial $30 go? Does Common Core have an answer?
On one hand I’m really puzzeled by this problem and looking forward to the answer. But then I put my self in their shoes and thought “What the heck - it’s a frickin’ dollar.”
The math problem as given doesn’t seem very “common core” how our kids would have had to solve it was:
7x5=?
Tens are easy - so 10x5 = 50.
But it is 7, so 10-7 = 3.
3x5=15 (easy!)
So the answer is 50-15=?
50-10=40
10-5 = 5
So 40-5 = 35.
So 7x5=35.
Not kidding! I have twin girls. They both learned their math facts (tables) in school. My wife and two other moms taught them in the hallway. The teachers and principal would have been in big trouble if the district found out - they were not allowed to teach math facts!
My one daughter couldn’t figure out these stupid ways and just put down the answers from knowing her facts. In later years we told her to ignore the “F’s” she would get for not doing it the long way.
The other daughter knew her facts, but could easily wrap her mind around this convoluted way. (She had to show me how it was done!)
They are in HS now. I’m not sure how the other kids without the memorized math facts can get along in math now.