Strategies for Writing

Equations to Solve Word

Problems

For more information about the materials you find in this packet, contact:
Mark Jones presenter
jonesmd@mansfieldct.org

Associated Teachers of Mathematics in Connecticut

2017 Annual Meeting and Conference
Monday, December 4
Radisson Hotel and Conference Center
Cromwell, CT

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© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 2
5.3.1 How can I draw it?
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Describing Relationships Between Quantities
You may not know it, but you use mathematical thinking every day. You think
mathematically when you figure out whether you can afford items you want to buy, or
when you read a graph on a website. You also think mathematically when you double a
recipe or when you estimate how much longer it will take to get somewhere based on how
far you still have to go. Math can describe many of the relationships in the world around
you.
Building your interpretation skills and developing ways to represent situations will help
you solve problems. In this section, you will learn new ways to show your thinking when
using math to solve problems.
5-93. Sometimes using the same words in a slightly different way can change their
meaning. Read and compare the two situations below.

Situation 1 Situation 2
Myra has 15 marbles. This is Myra has 15 marbles. Dahlia
ten less than Dahlia. has ten less than Myra.

a. For each situation, draw a picture to represent the marbles each girl has.
What is the difference between the problems?

b. In which problem does Myra have more marbles than Dahlia?

c. How many marbles does Dahlia have in Situation 1 above? How many does
she have in Situation 2?
5-94. Ellie is building a dollhouse. She has boards that are two different lengths. One
long board is 7 inches longer than the total length of three of the short boards.
a. Draw a picture showing how the short and long boards are
related.
b. What are some possible lengths of her boards?
c. If one of the long boards is 50 inches long, how long is a
short board? Be ready to share your thinking with the
class.

5-95. Now read and compare Problems A and B below.

Problem A Problem B
Dianna has $16. Jairo has twice Dianna has $16. She has
as much money as Dianna. Who twice as much money as
has more money? Jairo. Who has more money?

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 a. Represent each problem with a diagram.

b. Compare the amount of money Jairo has in part (a) to the amount he has in
part (b). Explain how you know in which situation he has more money.

5-96. Now you are going to reverse your thinking. Examine the pictures below. Then
use words to describe the relationship you see in the pictures. Assume the
lengths that appear to be equal are equal.
a. 10 inches b.

c.

5-97. Rich, Arielle, and Kristen justSame number of cookies

measured
how tall they are in feet. Their heights 5
are shown in the bar graph at right.
Height (feet)
4
Decide which statements below are true 3
and which statements are false. Rewrite 2
the false statements to make them true.
1
a. Rich is one foot shorter than Kristen.
Rich Arielle Kristen
b. Arielle is twice as tall as Rich.
c. Kristen is one foot taller than twice Arielle’s height.
d. The sum of the three children’s height is 10 feet.

5-98. Additional Challenge: Represent the description below with a picture.

Ellen is gluing tiles on the four vertical sides of a rectangular planter box. The
longer side of the box is covered by six more than two times as many tiles as the
shorter side.

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5.3.2 How can I organize it?
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Solving a Word Problem
You have seen that being able to draw diagrams and describe relationships is helpful for
solving problems. In this lesson, you will learn another way to organize your thinking as
you solve word problems.
5-104. FENCING THE BASKETBALL COURT
The Parent Club at Post Falls Middle
School needs 183 feet of fencing to go
around the rectangular outdoor basketball
court behind the school gym. The club
volunteers will only need to place a fence
on three sides of the court, because the
wall of the gym will form the fourth side.
The length of the court is 32 feet more
than the width. One of the shorter sides
will be 5 feet shorter than the other one to leave room for a gate.

Your Task: Determine how much fencing will be used on each side of the court.
Be prepared to justify your answer and show all of your work. Be sure that
someone who is not on your team can read and understand your work.

5-105. If another team came to look at your paper for problem 5-104, could that team
understand your work? Why or why not? What else could you do to make it so
that someone else could make sense of your work just by looking at it?

5-106. Daniel, Ronald, and Zeba decided to

organize their thinking in a table using a
method they call the 5-D Process. Get a
Lesson 5.3.2A Resource Page from your
teacher that shows their work. Then
answer some of the following questions
during the whole-class discussion.
 “What are the students
Describing and Drawing?”
 “What is in the Define column?”
 “What is the Do column used for?”
 “What are they trying to Decide?”
 “What might the Declare section be for?”

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 5

 5-107. While one team was working on problem 5-104,
the team members decided to see if a width of
30 feet would use all of the 183 feet of fencing.
They figured out that, with a 30-foot width, the
length would be 62 feet and the side with the gate
would be 25 feet. Only 117 feet of fencing would
be used.
What is a logical number that they should try next
for the width so that all of the fencing is used?
Explain your reasoning.

5-108. Finish problem 5-104 using the 5-D Process. Continue the table you looked at in
problem 5-106 to find the answer.

5-109. Use the steps of the 5-D Process to organize and solve each of the questions
below. The Lesson 5.3.2C Resource Page may help you set up your table. Be
sure to show each of the “D” steps clearly in your solution process.
a. Laura takes very good care of her vehicles. She
owns a blue van and a red truck. Although she
bought them both new, she has owned the truck
for 17 years longer than she has owned the van. If
the sum of the ages of the vehicles is 41 years, how old is
the van and how old is the truck?

b. Ryan is thinking of a number. When he multiplies this number by 6 and then subtracts 15
from the answer, he ends up with his original number. What number is Ryan thinking of?

5.3.3 How do I use the 5-D Process?

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Strategies for Using the 5-D Process
Math is used to solve challenging problems that apply to daily life. For example, how
much fresh water is on the planet? How many area codes for telephone numbers are
needed in a city? Where should a city build transportation lines such as city bus systems
and subways to reduce traffic on the freeways? Mathematics can provide helpful insights
for the answers to these questions.
When you are trying to solve a new and challenging problem, it is useful to have a strategy.
The 5-D Process that you learned about in Lesson 5.3.2 will often work when you are
trying to solve a problem you have not seen before.

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In this lesson, you will practice using this process to solve more word problems. You will
also compare the different ways that your classmates use the 5-D Process to help them. Be
sure to write your work neatly and be prepared to justify your reasoning.
At the end of this lesson, your team may be asked to present
your responses to one or more of the target questions above.

5-115. A scalene triangle has three unequal side lengths. The

medium-length side is 7 cm longer than the shortest
side. The longest side is twice as long as the shortest
side. The total perimeter is 39 cm. What are the
lengths of the sides of the triangle?

5-116. Travis and Angela were playing a “Guess My

Numbers” game. Angela told Travis, “I’m thinking of two positive numbers. The
difference of my numbers is 4, and the product of my numbers is 96. What are my
numbers?” Help Travis find Angela’s numbers.

5-117. The Potter Valley basketball team did not record how many baskets each player made
during the last game. Jenny remembers that she made three times as many baskets as
Grace. Alexis knows that she made six more baskets than Grace. Joan thinks that she
made 4 fewer baskets than Grace. Tammy is sure that she made the same number of
baskets as Joan. Altogether the five players made 40 baskets. How many baskets did
each player make?

5-118. Ms. Pacheco, Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Richards are three math teachers at Turner Middle
School. Ms. Pacheco is three years older than Mr. Richards. Mr. Edwards is twice as
old as Mr. Richards. The sum of Mr. Richards’ age and Mr. Edwards’ age is 81. How
old is each person?

5-119. Ramon was studying pond life in Doyle Park.

In two hours, he counted four more frogs
than turtles. The number of crayfish he
counted was three more than twice the
number of turtles. In total, he counted
54 turtles and crayfish. How many frogs
were there?

5-120. Dawn is trying to find the dimensions of a parallelogram. She knows that the base is
one unit less than twice the height of the shape. The area is 91 square units. How long
are the base and height?

5-121. Additional Challenge: If one side of a square is increased by 12 feet and the side
connected to it is decreased by three feet, a rectangle is formed. The perimeter of the
rectangle is 62 feet. How long was the side of the original square?

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 ETHODS AND MEANINGS
Solving Problems with the 5-D Process
MATH NOTES

The 5-D Process is an organized method to solve problems. The

D’s stand for Describe/Draw, Define, Do, Decide, and Declare.
An example of this work is shown below.

Problem: The base of a rectangle is 13 centimeters longer than

the height. If the perimeter is 58 centimeters, find the base and
the height of the rectangle.

Describe/Draw: The shape is a rectangle

height
and we are looking at the perimeter.
base

Define Do Decide
Height Base Perimeter 58?
(trial) (height + 13) 2(base) +
2(height)
Trial 1: 10 10 + 13 = 23 66 is too high
2(23) + 2(10) = 66

Use a trial value. Use the relationships stated in the problem Decide if the answer is
to determine the values of the other correct. Revise and make
quantities (such as base and perimeter). another trial until you find
the correct answer.

Trial 2: 7 7 + 13 = 20 2(20) + 2(7) = 54 too low

Trial 3: 8 8 + 13 = 21 2(21) + 2(8) = 58 correct

Declare: The base is 21 centimeters and the height is 8 centimeters.

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5.3.4 How can I represent it?
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Using Variables to Represent Quantities in Word Problems

Today you will continue to use the 5-D Process as you solve word problems. In this
lesson, you will use a variable to represent the unknown value in the problem.

5-128. Mai has one mini-box of Choco-Blasters candy, and

Warren gave her three more pieces. Samara has two
mini-boxes of Choco-Blasters and gave six pieces to
Will. Now Mai and Samara have the same number
of Choco-Blasters.

How many Choco-Blasters are in a mini-box?

Assuming all mini-boxes of Choco-Blasters have
the same number of pieces in them, use the 5-D
Process to solve this problem.

5-129. Allen’s team was working on a problem but did not have time to finish it. They
also did not follow the teacher’s directions for showing work in the Define
section. Discuss with your team what information you can get from Allen’s
table below.
DEFINE DO DECIDE
DOUBLE EACH SIDE AND TARGET
LENGTH WIDTH
ADD TOGETHER PERIMETER = 36?
TRIAL 1: 3 9 2(3) + 2(9) = 24 TOO SMALL
TRIAL 2: 4 ?

a. Is there enough information in Allen’s table to finish the problem?

Why or why not?

b. What would you need to know in order to complete Trial 2? Explain your
thinking.

5-130. Allen’s teammate, Scott, was also working on problem 5-129, but he organized
his table differently. As Scott explained his table to Allen, he used the pattern in
the first two trials to represent the quantities in the third row with a variable, x.
Look at the table below.
a. How is it different from Allen’s table?

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 b. What does the x in the table represent?
c. In words, describe the relationship between the length and the width.
d. Where did the expression x + x + (2x + 3) + (2x + 3) come from? Explain your
thinking.

DEFINE DO DECIDE
ADD ALL 4 SIDES TARGET
LENGTH WIDTH
TOGETHER PERIMETER = 36?
TRIAL 1: 3 2(3) + 3 3+ 3+ 9 + 9 = 24 TOO SMALL
TRIAL 2: 6 2(6) + 3 6 + 6 +15 +15 = 42 TOO LARGE

x 2(x) + 3 x + x + (2x + 3) + (2x + 3)

5-131. Izzy’s team used a 5-D table to solve a problem that involved consecutive
integers. Consecutive integers are integers that follow each other on a number
line. The numbers 1, 2, 3, …, 14, 15, 16, …, or –5, –4, –3, ... are all examples
of consecutive integers. The table below shows part of their work on the
problem.

Copy the table and finish the problem. After you find a solution, apply Scott’s
idea from problem 5-130 to add a row that uses a variable to summarize the
problem’s process.
DEFINE DO DECIDE
ADD ALL
1ST 2ND 3RD TARGET
NUMBERS
NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER SUM = 57
TOGETHER

TRIAL 1: 15 15 +1 15 + 2 15 +16 +17 = 48 TOO SMALL

TRIAL 2: 20 20 +1 20 + 2 20 + 21+ 22 = 63 TOO LARGE

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5-132. Meiko saw someone’s expressions in the 5-D Process table below and wanted to
reverse the process. The problem involved a bag of green, red, and blue
marbles.
DEFINE DO DECIDE

GREEN RED BLUE TOTAL MARBLES TOTAL = 71?

TRIAL 1: 15
x x-2 2x + 5 x + (x - 2) + (2x + 5)

a. One of the variable expressions describes how the number of red marbles
compares with the number of green marbles. How can you describe this
relationship in words?
b. Based on the variable expressions, use words to describe how the number of
blue marbles compares with the number of green marbles.
c. How many total marbles are in the bag?
d. If there are 15 green marbles in the bag, how many red and blue marbles are
in the bag? Show your work.
e. Use the information in the table to find the number of green, red, and blue
marbles.

5-133. Camille knew that a triangle had one side with

a length of 16 inches and another side with a Describe/Draw:
length of 20 inches. She did not know the Perimeter is 5 times
length of the third side, but she did know that unknown
the perimeter was five times the length of the
16
unknown side. How long is the unknown x
side? Copy the table below and complete the
table. You may add as many rows as you 20
need to solve the problem. Remember to
summarize the relationships with a row that uses a variable and to complete the
Declare sentence.
DEFINE DO DECIDE
UNKNOWN COMPARE SUM TO
PERIMETER SAME?
SIDE PERIMETER
?
TRIAL 1: 5 5(5) 5 + 16 + 20 = 25 NO
41 ¹ 25

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5-134. Margaret was working on the problem below.

Declan earned four times as much money last summer as his sister Gwen.
Together they earned $475. How much did each person earn?

The table below shows the first two trials Margaret made. Based on the results,
work with your study team to suggest a number she should try next. (You do not
actually need to solve the problem.)
 Is it reasonable for different members of your team to suggest different
numbers?
 Are there some numbers that would not be helpful? Explain.

DEFINE DO DECIDE
ADD BOTH OF
GWEN’S DECLAN’S TARGET SUM =
THEIR EARNINGS
EARNINGS EARNINGS $475
TOGETHER
TRIAL 1: $50 4 ( $50 ) $50 + $200 = $250 TOO SMALL
TRIAL 2: $100 4 ( $100 ) $100 + $400 = $500 TOO LARGE

5-135. Dawn and Myrna’s father has asked them to build a rectangular pen for their
dog. They have 74 feet of fencing. They want the length to be one more than
twice the width. Use the 5-D Process to help Dawn and Myrna find the
dimensions (both length and width) of the pen.

5-136. Additional Challenge: Use the 5-D Process to find three consecutive integers
that have a product of 3360.

5.3.5 How can I solve it?

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More Word Problem Solving

So far in Section 5.3, you have been using a 5-D Process as a way to organize and solve
problems. Today you will continue using this process to solve problems in a variety of
situations.

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5-143. According to many sources, insects are the most diverse group of animals on the
planet. The number of species is estimated at between six and ten million.
Insects are said to represent more than half of all known living organisms and
potentially over 90% of the differing life forms on Earth.

The following problems are about insects and other creepy-crawly creatures.
You will use your math skills to find out some fascinating facts about them.
Your teacher will assign your team one of the following problems to solve.
Be prepared to present your solution, including all steps of your 5-D solving
process, to the class.

a. Many insects migrate (travel) between their summer

and winter homes. The desert locust migrates about
800 miles farther than the Monarch butterfly every
spring, and the pink-spotted hawk moth migrates about
200 miles less than four times the distance of the
Monarch butterfly every spring. Laid end to end, the
distances traveled by a Monarch butterfly, a desert
locust, and a pink-spotted hawk moth is about 12,600 miles
every spring. How far does each species travel?

b. Bees, wasps, and ants all live in colonies that have a queen. The queen of
the colony is really the mother of all the insects in the colony. During the
spring and summer, many eggs are laid in bee, wasp, and ant colonies all
over the world.

Queen bees lay about double the number of

eggs in a day that queen ants lay. Queen
wasps lay about 600 fewer eggs a day than
queen ants do. An average queen bee, ant,
and wasp together lay about 2600 eggs a
day. How many eggs would each type of
queen lay in one day?

c. Flies cannot see much farther than 24 to 36 inches away from their eyes, but
that is not due to a lack of lenses – dragonflies have thousands of lenses! In
one eye, dragonflies have two thousand more lenses than seven times the
number of lenses that houseflies have in one eye. If one housefly eye and
one dragonfly eye together have 34,000 lenses, how many lenses do
houseflies have in one eye? How many do dragonflies have in one eye?

d. Think you do not have enough room to farm? Think again. You could farm
worms under your desk with a commercially available worm farm that
measures 16" x 16" x 28". You can buy the worms online. At 1200 worms
per pound, you could start your own business just as John did. He’s not
good at keeping his records, however, and he needs your help.

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 John buys his worms from two online stores,
Worm Heaven and Wiggles R Us. John
remembers that he ordered 1200 more than
twice as many worms from Worm Heaven as
he did from Wiggles R Us. He also knows he
has 18,000 worms. How many worms did he
order from each store?

e. There are many kinds of animals that live in and on our bodies, called
parasites. Some of the longest parasites live in our intestines. Two of these
parasites are roundworms and tapeworms. Their lengths can be quite
different, depending on how long they have been living in someone’s body.

One of the longest tapeworms ever measured was three feet less than seven
times the length of the longest roundworm ever measured. If you laid these
two worms end to end, they would measure an amazing 69 feet! How long
was the tapeworm and how long was the roundworm?

f. Did you know that most of the states in this

country have official state insects and
butterflies? Out of 30 states, the three most
common insects are Monarch butterflies,
honeybees, and ladybugs. The number of
states that have Monarch butterflies as their
official insect is one more than the number
of states that have ladybugs as their official
insect. The number of states that have
honeybees as their official insect is three
times the number of states with ladybugs as their state insect minus one.
How many states have each kind of insect as their state insect?

g. Mosquitoes and other biting insects can cause a great deal of discomfort.
They can also spread diseases that threaten public health in many areas of
the world. The seed oil of a plant commonly called the physic nut is burned
in lamps in India and parts of Africa to repel biting insects, especially
mosquitoes. A scientific investigation was done to identify which chemicals
in the oil were responsible for deterring mosquitoes. Three chemicals in the
oil, specifically palmitic, linoleic, and stearic acids, were tested for find their
effectiveness against mosquitoes that spread two deadly diseases in Africa,
yellow fever and dengue fever.

In the study, palmitic acid was determined to be the most effective chemical,
providing three times the protection of stearic acid and ten percent higher
protection than linoleic acid. Stearic acid plus linoleic acid together were
five percent more effective than palmitic acid by itself. What is the
combined effectiveness of all three chemicals in repelling mosquitoes?

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6.2.1 What values make expressions equal?
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Solving Equations
In the last section, you figured out how to determine what values of x make one
expression greater than another. In this lesson, you will study what can be learned
about x when two expressions are equal.

6-48. CHOOSING A PRICE PLAN

Sandeep works at a bowling alley that

currently charges players $3 to rent
shoes and $4 per game. However, his
boss is thinking about charging $11 to
rent shoes and $2 per game.

a. If a customer rents shoes and plays two games, will he or she pay more with
the current price plan or the new price plan? Show how you know.

b. If the customer bowls 7 games, which price plan is cheaper?

6-49. WILL THEY EVER BE EQUAL? = +1 Mat A Mat B

= –1 x
Sandeep decided to represent the two price x

x
?
plans from problem 6-48 with the expressions
below, where x represents the number of x
games bowled. Then he placed them on the x x
Expression Comparison Mat shown at right.
Original price: 4x + 3 New price: 2x +11

a. Are his expressions correct? Find both the original and new prices when
x = 2 and then again when x = 7 games. Did you get the same prices as you
found in problem 6-46?
Mat A Mat B
b. Sandeep then simplified the expressions on x
the mat. What steps did Sandeep take to

?
simplify the mat to this point?
c. Sandeep noticed that for a certain number of x
games, customers would pay the same
amount no matter which price plan his boss
used. That is, he found a value of x that
will make 4x + 3 = 2x +11. How many games would that = +1
customer bowl? What was the price he paid? Explain. = –1

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 15

 d. The value of x you found in part (c) is called a solution to the equation
4x + 3= 2x +11 because it makes the equation true. That is, it makes both
expressions have the same value.
Is x = 6 also a solution? How can you tell?

6-50. SOLVING FOR X

When the expressions on each side of the comparison mat are equal, they can be
represented on a mat called an Equation Mat. Obtain a Lesson 6.2.1 Resource
Page and algebra tiles from your teacher. Now the “=” symbol on the central
line indicates that the expressions on each side of the mat are equal.
a. Build the equation represented by the Equation
Mat at right on your own mat using algebra
tiles.
x
b. On your paper, record the original equation x x
x
represented on your Equation Mat.
c. Simplify the tiles on the mat as much as possible.
Record what is on the mat after each legal move as you simplify each
expression. What value
of x will make the expressions equal?

6-51. Amelia wants to solve the equation shown on the

Equation Mat at right. After she simplified each x x
expression as much as possible, she was confused
by the tiles that were left on the mat.
x x x
a. What was Amelia’s original equation?

b. Remove any zero pairs that you find on each side

of the Equation Mat. What happens?

c. What is the solution to this equation? That is, what value of x makes this
equation true? Explain your reasoning.

6-52. Amelia now wants to solve the equation 2x + 2 + (-3) = 5x + 8 . Help her find the
value of x that makes these expressions equal. Be sure to:
 Build the expressions using algebra tiles on your Equation Mat.
 Draw the mat on your paper.
 Simplify the mat to help you figure out what value of x makes this
equation true. Be sure to record your work in symbols on your paper.

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 16

6-53. Additional Challenge: Try the number puzzle below.

Pick any number, add 20, multiply your answer by 2, and subtract 30 from the
result. Then, divide your answer by 2 and subtract your original number.
a. What is the result?
b. Try it with several different numbers. Is the result the same every time?
c. Using a variable (such as n) to represent the starting number, show why the
final result is always the number 5.

6.2.2 How do I know that it is correct?

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Checking Solutions and the Distributive Property

Sometimes a lot can depend on the solution of a problem. For example, when businesses
calculate the cost of packaging and shipping a product, they need to come up with an
accurate value. If they miscalculate by only $0.01 per package but ship one million
packages per year, this small miscalculation could be costly.

Solving a problem is one challenge. However, once it is solved, it is important to have

ways to know whether the solution you found is correct. In this lesson, you will be solving
equations and finding ways to determine whether your solution makes the equation true.

6-60. Chen’s sister made this riddle for him to

solve: “I am thinking of a number. If you add
two to the number then triple it, you get nine.”

a. Build the equation on an Equation Mat. What are two ways that
Chen could write this equation?

b. Solve the equation and show your work by writing the equation on your paper after each
legal move.

c. When Chen told his sister the mystery number in the riddle, she said he was wrong. Chen
was sure that he had figured out the correct number. Find a way to justify that you have
the correct solution in part (b).

6-61. Now solve the equation 4(x + 3) = 8 . Remember to:

 Build the equation on your Equation Mat with algebra tiles.
 Simplify the equation using your legal moves.
 Record your work on your paper.
 Solve for x. That is, find the value of x that makes the equation true.

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 17

6-62. CHECKING YOUR SOLUTION

When you solve an equation that has one solution, you get a value for the
variable. But how do you know that you have done the steps correctly and that
your answer “works”?

a. Look at your answer for problem 6-61. How could you

verify that your solution is correct and convince someone
else? Discuss your ideas with your team.

b. When Kelly and Madison compared their solutions for the

equation 2x - 7 = -2x +1, Kelly got a solution of x = 2 and
Madison got a solution of x = -1. To decide whether the
solutions were correct, the girls decided to check their
answers to see if they made the expressions equal.

Finish their work below to determine whether either girl has

the correct solution.

KELLY’S WORK MADISON’S WORK

c. When checking, Kelly ended up with -3 = -3 . Does this mean that her
answer is correct or incorrect? If it is correct, does this mean the solution is
x = -3 or x = 2 ? Explain.
d. Go back to problem 6-61 and show how to check your solution for that
problem.
6-63. Kelly solved the equation 4(x + 3) = 8 from problem
6-61. Her work is shown at right.

a. If 4(x + 3) = 8 , does x + 3 have to equal 2? Why?

b. What did Kelly do to remove the 3 unit tiles from

the left side of the equation? Does this move affect the equality?

c. If Kelly were solving the equation 3(x - 5) = 9 , what might her first step be?
What would she have after that step? You may want to build this equation
on an Equation Mat to help make sense of her strategy.

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 18

6.2.3 How can I record it?
x
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••
Solving Equations and Recording Work
In this lesson, you will continue to improve your skills of simplifying and solving more
complex equations. You will develop ways to record your solving strategies so that another
student can understand your steps without seeing your Equation Mat.
6-71. Gene and Aidan were using algebra tiles to solve equations. Aidan was called
away.
Help Gene finish by completing the table shown below and on the Lesson 6.2.3
Resource Page.

Mat A Mat B Steps taken

2x + 2(2x +1) + (-3x) + (-6) 4x + 3+ (-3) + x + 8 Original Equation

1. Use the Distributive

Property.
3x + (-4) 5x + 8 2.

3. Subtract 3x from both

sides.

-12 2x 4.

5. Divide both sides by 2.

6-72. Aidan was frustrated that he needed to write so much when solving an equation.
He decided to come up with a shortcut for recording his work to solve a new
equation.
As you look at Aidan’s recording below of how he solved 2x + 4 = -12 , visualize
an Equation Mat with algebra tiles. Then answer the questions for each step
below.

a. What legal move does writing – 4 twice represent?

b. What legal move does circling the + 4 and the – 4 represent?

c. What does the box around the 22 represent?

d. Why did Aidan divide both sides by 2?

e. Check Aidan’s solution in the original equation. Is his solution correct?

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 19

6-73. The method of recording the steps in the solution of
an equation is useful only if you understand what
operations are being used and how they relate to the
legal moves on your Equation Mat.

Find the work shown at right on your resource

page for this lesson.

a. For each step in the solution, add the missing

work below each line that shows what legal
moves were used. You may want to build the
equation on an Equation Mat.

b. Check that the solution is correct.

6-74. For each equation below, solve for x. You may want to build the equation on
your Equation Mat. Record your work in symbols using Aidan’s method from
problem 6-72. Remember to check your solution.

a. -2x + 5 + 2x - 5 = -1+ (-1) + 6x + 2

b. 3(4 + x) = x + 6

6-75. Oliver is building a train depot for his model railroad. As his final step, he needs
to apply rain gutters around the roof of the rectangular building. He has 52 cm
of rain gutters. The length of the depot is 19 cm. Explore how Oliver can find
the width of the depot by answering the questions below.

a. Find the width of the depot using arithmetic (that is, solve the problem
without using any variables). Record your steps.

b. Use w to represent the width of the depot. Write an algebraic equation that
shows the perimeter is 52 cm, and solve your equation. Record your steps.

c. Which method, the arithmetic or algebraic, did you prefer? Why?

6-76. For each equation below, solve for x. You may want to build the equation on
your Equation Mat. Record your work and check your solution.

a. 5x + (-x) -1 = 11- 2x b. 3(-x + 2) + x -1 = -x - 3

6-77. Genny is confused. She simplified an

equation and ended up with the mat
shown at right. What is the value of x? x
= +1
= –1 x

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 20

6-78. Maggie’s mom agrees to let Maggie buy small gifts for some of her friends.
Each gift costs $4. Maggie’s mom gave her a budget of $19. When Maggie
went online to order the gifts, she discovered there was a $7 shipping fee no
matter how many gifts she bought.

a. Use arithmetic (without variables) to determine how many gifts Maggie can
buy. Record your steps.

b. Write an algebraic equation to determine how many gifts Madison can buy
with $19, and solve your equation. Record your steps.
c. Compare and contrast the two methods of solving the problem.

6.2.4 How can I represent it?

x
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••
Using a Table to Write Equations from Word Problems
In the last few lessons, you used algebra tiles and Equation Mats to solve problems in
which variables represented specific numbers. The tile and Equation Mat tools are related
to the processes you have used to solve word problems in which a specific value is
unknown. Today you will connect these two tools and the expressions you wrote using a
part of the 5-D Process to extend your repertoire for solving problems.

6-93. THE 5-D PROCESS REVISITED

Use the 5-D Process to set up the

following problem. Complete only
three trials. Even if you do not yet
know the solution, wait for your
teacher’s instructions.

The Great Lakes contain the largest

amount of fresh water on the surface
of the planet. Combined, the five
lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron,
Erie, and Ontario) contain 84% of
North America’s and 21% of the
world’s surface fresh water.

The amount of water in Lake Superior is 1720 cubic miles more than the amount of water in
Lake Michigan. Lake Huron has 330 cubic miles of water less than Lake Michigan. If the total
amount of water in the three lakes is 4930 cubic miles, how much water is in each lake?

Check the reasonableness of the amounts of water you found for each lake by using estimation
strategies: Does the total volume of the three lakes seem reasonable?

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 21

6-94. GO FOR THE GOLD

As you saw in problem 6-93, sometimes organizing

your thinking using the 5-D Process to solve a word
problem involves a lot of work. Sometimes the tables
are very complicated or the numbers require many
trials to find the answer. How can your new
equation-solving skills help you solve word
problems? Read the following word problem and
then answer the questions below.

While looking at the country of Jamaica’s results from the 2008 Beijing
Olympics, Gemma noticed that the number of gold medals Jamaica received was
twice the number of silver medals. She also realized that Jamaica received 1
fewer bronze medal than silver medals. Altogether, Jamaica received 11 medals.

a. Gemma started by setting up the 5-D Process table below. What did she
define x to represent?

DEFINE DO DECIDE
TOTAL NUMBER OF
# GOLD # SILVER # BRONZE 11?
MEDALS
2X X

b. How did she represent the number of gold and bronze medals?

c. Write an equation for the total number of medals.

d. Solve your equation in part (c). What is the value of x? What does this
represent?

e. How many gold medals did Jamaica earn? Explain how you know.

6.2.5 How can I model it?

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••• x
Writing and Solving Equations
Engineers investigate practical problems to improve people’s quality of life. To investigate
solutions to problems, they often build models. These models can take various forms. For
example, a structural engineer designing a bridge might build a small replica of the bridge.
Civil engineers studying the traffic patterns in a city might create equations that model
traffic flows into and out of a city at different times. In this lesson, you will be building
equations to model and solve problems based on known information.

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 22

6-103. Today your team will be responsible for solving a problem and sharing your
solution with the class on a poster. It is important that your poster communicates
your thinking and reasoning so that people who look at your poster understand
how you solved the problem. Your poster should include:
 Connections between the words in the problem and the relationships in
your table and/or equation. Connections can be made with arrows,
colors, symbols, and/or labels.
 Variables that are defined completely.
 An equation to represent the problem.
 Your solution to the problem.
 The answer declared in a sentence.
 An estimation verifying that the total of your solutions is reasonable.
Begin by solving one of the problems below and writing an equation. Make sure
to define the variable you use and answer the question(s) being asked. Using the
5-D Process, including numerical trials, may be helpful.
a. Hong Kong’s tallest building, Two International Finance Center, is 88
stories tall. The former Sears Tower in Chicago is eight stories taller than
the Empire State Building in New York City. If all of the buildings were
stacked on top of each other, the combined heights would have 300 stories.
How many stories does the Sears Tower have?

b. Have you ever driven or walked across a suspension bridge? There are
many suspension bridges in the world of different lengths that allow people
to travel across rivers, bays, and lakes.

The Mackinac Bridge in Michigan is 1158 meters long. The Tsing Ma

Bridge in Hong Kong is 97 meters longer than the Golden Gate Bridge in
California. Together, all three bridges have a length of 3815 meters. How
long is the Tsing Ma Bridge?

c. Elevations found in the United States

range from California’s Death Valley
at 282 feet below sea level to
Alaska’s Mount McKinley, also
known as Denali, at 20,320 feet
above sea level.
The highest elevation in Delaware is 106 feet higher than the highest
elevation in Florida. Louisiana’s highest elevation is 190 feet higher than
Florida’s highest elevation. If you climbed from sea level to the highest
points in Delaware, Florida, and Louisiana, you would only climb 1331 feet.
How high is the highest elevation in each of the three states?

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 23

 d. Most states in the United States are divided into counties. Some counties
are very large, while some are very small. Different states have different
numbers of counties. Pennsylvania has five less than twice as many
counties as Oregon. Florida has one less county than Pennsylvania.
Together, the three states have 169 counties. How many counties does each
of these three states have?

e. A train from Washington, D.C. Train Map

to Chicago stops first in Chicago, IL
Pittsburg and then in Cleveland, OH
Cleveland. The distance from Pittsburg, PA
Washington, D.C. to Pittsburg
is 30 miles less than twice the
distance from Pittsburg to Washington, D.C.
Cleveland. The distance from
Cleveland to Chicago is
220 miles more than the distance between Pittsburg and Cleveland. If the
entire train ride is 710 miles, how far is the train ride from Cleveland to
Chicago?

URL for 6-103 (problems on one page per problem):

http://www.cpm.org/pdfs/stuRes/CC2/chapter_06/CC2%20Lesson%206.2.5%20RP.pdf

6.2.7 Which method should I use?

x
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••
Choosing a Solving Strategy

Today you will practice writing equations from word problems and solving them using any
of the tools you know. You are developing an efficient set of tools to solve any word
problem, such as the 5-D Process and algebra tiles. Having a variety of methods will allow
you to choose the one that makes sense to you and ultimately makes you a stronger
mathematician.

6-128. Nick tried to use a symbolic method to solve 3x - 6 = 27 , but

he may have made a mistake. His work is shown at right. If
he did make a mistake, on which step did he first make a
mistake, and what was his mistake? If he did not make a
mistake, check his solution and write “all correct.”

6-129. Nick represented the equation 3(2x + 4) = -6 = +1

on the Equation Mat at right. = –1

a. Choose a strategy to solve for x. You x

may continue to use algebra tiles, or you x
may use symbols on paper.
=
x
x
x
© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 x 24
 b. Check your answer. If your answer does
not make the equation true, try solving the
equation using a different strategy.

6-130. Read the problem below, and then answer the

questions in parts (a) and (b).
Cisco and Misty need to construct a chicken coop
for their famous egg-laying hens. The hens need at
least 108 square feet of living space. The space
available allows Cisco and Misty to make the length
of the coop 3 feet longer than the width and to
create exactly 108 square feet of area. What are the
dimensions of the coop?
a. Laura tried to use an Equation Mat for this problem but got stuck and
decided to use a different strategy. Why do you think she decided not to use
the Equation Mat?
b. Now choose a different method to solve this problem, such as the 5-D
Process or writing and solving an equation. Even if you solve an equation
and do not use the table from the 5-D Process, you still need to define how
you are using variables and remember to write your answer in a sentence.
Check your answer.

6-131. Below is a problem started with a 5-D table.

Describe/Draw:

We want to find the side lengths so the perimeter is 35 m.

Define Do Decide
Side 1 Side 2 Side 3 Perimeter Target: 35 m
Trial 1 5 5 + 2 = 7 7 + 4 = 11 5 + 7 +11 = 23 23 Too small

x x+2 (x + 2) + 4 x + (x + 2) + (x + 2 + 4) = 35

a. Write the word problem that could have accompanied this 5-D table.

b. What is your preferred method to solve this problem: algebra tiles, an

equation, or the 5-D Process?

c. Decide on a method to solve this problem, use your method to find your
answer, and write a Declare statement for your answer.

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 25

6-132. Apiologists (scientists who study bees) have found
that the number and types of bees in a hive is based
on the amount of nectar and pollen available. Within
a hive are three types of bees that help the queen:
workers, drones, and nurses.

In a recent study of a hive, it was found that there

was a total of 4109 bees, not including the queen.
There were thirty-three more nurses than drones.
The number of workers was twelve more than six
times the number of drones. How many of each type
of bee was in the hive?

Choose a method to solve this problem, such as the 5-D Process or writing and
solving an equation. Even if you solve an equation and do not use the table from
the 5-D Process, you still need to define how you are using variables and
remember to write your answer in a sentence. Check your answer with
estimation to make sure that it is reasonable.

URL for 6-103 (problems on one page per problem):

http://www.cpm.org/pdfs/stuRes/CC2/chapter_06/CC2%20Lesson%206.2.5%20RP.pdf

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 26

 Fencing the Basketball Court

Describe/Draw: The shape is a Total fencing: 183 ft

Problem 5-106

same 32 ft
rectangle, but we are only looking for
three sides. This problem is about 5 ft
Side #3 missing
perimeter.
Lesson 5.3.2A Resource Page

for gate
Side #2

Side #1 Building

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved

Define Do Decide

CC2
Side 1 Side 2 Side 3 Add the sides together 183?

Trial 1: 10 10 – 5 = 5 10 + 32 = 42 10 + 5 + 42 = 57 Too small

Trial 2: 20 20 – 5 = 15 20 + 32 = 52 20 + 15 + 52 = 87 Too small

Declare:

27
 The 5-D Process

Describe/Draw: Describe the important words, write down words that you
don’t know, record any information that is important to the problem. If
appropriate, Draw a diagram or picture to help visualize the problem putting
important information in the picture.
Lesson 5.3.2B Resource Page

Lesson 5.3.2C Resource Page

Define Do Decide
Divide this into the number of sub Do all of Decide if your answer is too
columns that you need to Define the math small, too large, or if it is

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved

all your terms. This is where you operations correct.  Then Decide what

CC2
will try different numbers. here. your next trial should be.

Declare: Declare the solution in a complete sentence, answering the question

from the problem.

28
 The 5-D Process
5-109a.
Describe/Draw:




Define Do Decide

truck van truck + van Is the sum 41 years?

Trial 1:

Trial 2:

Trial 3:

Declare:

The 5-D Process

5-109b.
Describe/Draw:




Define Do Decide
Is this Ryan’s original
Ryan’s number
number?

Trial 1:

Trial 2:

Trial 3:

Declare:

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 29

Lesson 5.3.2D Resource Page
The 5-D Process
Describe/Draw:




Define Do Decide

Trial 1:

Trial 2:

Trial 3:

Declare:

The 5-D Process

Describe/Draw:




Define Do Decide

Trial 1:

Trial 2:

Trial 3:

Declare:

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 30

Lesson 5.3.3 Resource Page Page 1 of 3

Problem 5-115
The 5-D Process
A scalene triangle has three unequal side lengths. The medium-length side is 7 cm longer than the
shortest side. The longest side is twice as long as the shortest side. The total perimeter is 39 cm.
What are the lengths of the sides of the triangle?

Describe/Draw:


How
many
columns?
How do I
label
them?

Define Do Decide

Find the perimeter. Is the perimeter 39?

Trial 1:

Trial 2:

Trial 3:

Declare:

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 31

 Lesson 5.3.3 Resource Page Page 2 of 3

Problem 5-116
The 5-D Process
Travis and Angela were playing a “Guess My Numbers” game. Angela told Travis, “I’m thinking
of two positive numbers. The difference of my numbers is 4, and the product of my numbers is 96.
What are my numbers?” Help Travis find Angela’s numbers.

Describe/Draw:

 What do I
have to do?

Define Do Decide
First Second
Is the product 96?
number number

Trial 1:

Trial 2:

Trial 3:

Declare:

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 32

 Lesson 5.3.3 Resource Page Page 3 of 3

Problem 5-117
The 5-D Process
The Potter Valley basketball team did not record how many baskets were made by each player
during the last game. Jenny remembers that she made three times as many baskets as Grace.
Alexis knows that she made six more baskets than Grace. Joan thinks that she made 4 fewer
baskets than Grace. Tammy is sure that she made the same number of baskets as Joan. Altogether
the five players made 40 baskets. How many baskets did each player make?

Describe/Draw:


How do I label
 the columns?
Who goes first?

Define Do Decide
Are there 40
altogether?

Trial 1:

Trial 2:

Trial 3:

Declare:

Lesson 6.2.1 Resource Page

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 33

Lesson 6.2.3 Resource Page

Recording Work
Problem 6-71.

Mat A Mat B Steps taken

Original Equation
2x + 2(2x +1) + (-3x) + (-6) 4x + 3+ (-3) + x + 8

1. Use the Distributive

Property.

2.
3x + (-4) 5x + 8

3. Subtract 3x from
both sides.

4.
-12 2x

5. Divide both sides

by 2.

Problem 6-73.

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 34

Mathematics | Standards for Mathematical Practice
The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels
should seek to develop in their students. These practices rest on important “processes and proficiencies”
with longstanding importance in mathematics education. The first of these are the NCTM process standards
of problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, representation, and connections. The second are
the strands of mathematical proficiency specified in the National Research Council’s report Adding It Up:
adaptive reasoning, strategic competence, conceptual understanding (comprehension of mathematical
concepts, operations and relations), procedural fluency (skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately,
efficiently and appropriately), and productive disposition (habitual inclination to see mathematics as
sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and one’s own efficacy).

1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

 Find meaning in problems
 Look for entry points
 Analyze, conjecture and plan solution pathways
 Monitor and adjust
 Verify answers
 Ask themselves the question: “Does this make sense?”

2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

 Make sense of quantities and their relationships in problems
 Learn to contextualize and decontextualize
 Create coherent representations of problems

3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

 Understand and use information to construct arguments
 Make and explore the truth of conjectures
 Recognize and use counterexamples
 Justify conclusions and respond to arguments of others

4 Model with mathematics.

 Apply mathematics to problems in everyday life
 Make assumptions and approximations to simplify a complicated situation
 Identify quantities in a practical situation
 Interpret results in the context of the situation and reflect on whether the results make sense

5 Use appropriate tools strategically.

 Consider the available tools when solving problems
 Are familiar with tools appropriate for their grade or course ( pencil and paper, concrete models,
ruler, protractor, calculator, spreadsheet, computer programs, digital content located on a website,
and other technological tools)
 Make sound decisions of which of these tools might be helpful

6 Attend to precision.
 Communicate precisely to others
 Use clear definitions, state the meaning of symbols and are careful about specifying units of
measure and labeling axes
 Calculate accurately and efficiently

7 Look for and make use of structure.

 Discern patterns and structures
 Can step back for an overview and shift perspective
 See complicated things as single objects or as being composed of several objects

8 Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

 Notice if calculations are repeated and look both for general methods and shortcuts
 In solving problems, maintain oversight of the process while attending to detail
 Evaluate the reasonableness of their immediate results

© 2013 CPM Educational Program. All rights reserved CC2 35