This understanding involves interpreting a two-step situation, identifying the quantities and relationships, and representing them with an equation, bar model, or related diagram using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division with whole numbers. The solver determines which operation applies first based on the context, preserves the meaning of intermediate results, and checks whether the final answer is reasonable; formal order-of-operations rules, negative numbers, fractions, decimals, and more complex expressions are outside this scope.
Read the problem and ask:
The first answer is an intermediate result. Use it in the second step.
Example:
Maya has bags of apples. Each bag has apples. She gives apples away. How many apples does she have left?
There are equal groups of , so multiply:
Maya starts with apples.
She gives away apples, so subtract:
Maya has apples left.
The two-step equation is:
Check: groups of make , and taking away should leave a number a little less than . So is reasonable.
Click a topic below to practice the foundational skills you'll need, learn the steps, or master this skill
Earned ?