One stroke per sentence: draw a bar model to sort out how the unknowns relate, then move step by step to shorter symbols.
Relationships between Unknowns: Substitution
Methods in this video
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- 1
Swap them all into one kind
When to use it: The question says some of one thing weigh or are worth the same as some of another (4 bananas weigh the same as 6 apples, 9 squigs are worth 2 zots), or a balance has different things on each side, without saying what one of them is. You must compare, total or swap.
- Write the swap as one line, and simplify it if you can.
- If the numbers don't match, scale the whole line up; with two links, swap twice.
- Turn everything into one kind before you compare or add. Never just count the pieces.
Practise exam-style questions with these methods
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