{"id":245186,"date":"2024-07-15T16:00:30","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T08:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/?p=245186"},"modified":"2025-06-16T13:18:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T05:18:15","slug":"p5-fractions-word-problems-how-to-solve-with-change-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/p5-fractions-word-problems-how-to-solve-with-change-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"P5 Fractions Word Problems: How To Solve With Change Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ hover_enabled=”0″ z_index_tablet=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welcome back to another P5 Fractions blog post!<\/p>\n

In this blog post, I will be teaching you one of the Change Strategies, which is another technique you can use to solve P5 Math word problems.<\/p>\n

\n

What Are The 4 Change Strategies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

1\ufe0f\u20e3\u00a0One Item Unchanged<\/p>\n

2\ufe0f\u20e3\u00a0Difference Kept The Same (or Common Difference)<\/p>\n

3\ufe0f\u20e3\u00a0Total Unchanged<\/p>\n

4\ufe0f\u20e3\u00a0All Items Changed<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We\u2019ve learned when and how to use the Common Difference Method<\/a> to solve P5 Math Word Problems in a previous blog post. So I will be discussing when and how to use the Change Strategy One Item Unchanged.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, you can watch my explainer video on this question here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n

Let’s Take A Look At This Fractions Question<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Source: Raffles Girls\u2019 Primary School \u2014 2018 P5 Math SA1 Examination Paper [Q9]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Read Also:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. [Primary 5 Math Explainer Video] Fractions: Change Strategy<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0P5 Math Problem-solving Technique: Unit X Value Method<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Solving P5 Math Word Problem Sums With The Assumption Method<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Thought Process<\/span>
    <\/h2>\n

    Let us first analyse the question.<\/p>\n

    Shirley picked some strawberries and raspberries.<\/em><\/p>\n

    But what else do we need to know about them? Let\u2019s read on.<\/p>\n

    5\/7 of the fruits were strawberries and the rest were raspberries<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    We can assign these two numbers in the fraction to the two items in the question.<\/p>\n

    The numerator 5<\/strong> will go to the first item in the sentence, which is the initial quantity of strawberries<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Meanwhile, the denominator 7<\/strong> represents the initial total number of fruits<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    How do we know this? Because 5 units have been assigned to the strawberries, the remainder of this fraction refers to the rest of the fruits, which are raspberries.<\/p>\n

    Thus, making the total number of fruits 7 units.<\/p>\n

    Let us record this information with the label \u201cAt First.\u201d<\/p>\n

    For the strawberries, we have 5 units. How about the raspberries?<\/p>\n

    Remember that we have 7 units of fruits in total. To get the number of raspberries, we will subtract 5, which is the number of strawberries.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    We are going to represent strawberries with S and raspberries with R.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \ud83d\udca1 Why Is It Important To Use Letters To Represent Variables? \ud83d\udca1<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Using the first letter of the variables for representation helps us save time during examinations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Now, let us take a look at the third sentence.<\/p>\n

    Her family ate 30 raspberries<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    Therefore, the number of raspberries decreased by 30.<\/p>\n

    Meanwhile, was there any change in S? Did the question mention anything about the strawberries being eaten or thrown away?<\/p>\n

    The question did not mention anything. So based on the information that we have, we know that S remains the same.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    Let us continue reading the question.<\/p>\n

    As a result, 10\/11 of the remaining fruits were strawberries.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Can you spot the fraction in this sentence?<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s 10\/11!<\/p>\n

    What does this fraction tell us?<\/p>\n

    The numerator 10<\/strong> represents the number of strawberries in the end<\/strong>, while the denominator 11<\/strong> tells us the total number of fruits in the end<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Let us record this information with the label \u201cEnd.\u201d<\/p>\n

    As we did in our first fraction, let us subtract the number of strawberries from the total number of fruits to get the number of raspberries.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    With all the information in place, let us ask ourselves \u2014 What changed? What did not change?<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    As indicated in the Change Table, S did not change.<\/p>\n

    But in the end, S has 10 units.<\/p>\n

    If there was no change, the 5 units at the start should equate to the 10 units at the end.<\/p>\n

    How can we make them the same?<\/p>\n

    To get from 5 units to 10 units, we will multiply 5 by 2.<\/p>\n

    This means that every unit must first be multiplied by 2 so that S will remain consistent from the start to the end.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    With the new units in place, let\u2019s examine R.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    At first, R only had 4 units but it ended with 1 unit.<\/p>\n

    Why is this so?<\/p>\n

    Let us look at our Change Column.<\/p>\n

    R decreased because her family ate 30 raspberries.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s find the difference between 4 units and 1 unit.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    3u equates to the 30 Rs eaten. So let us write that down and proceed to computing the value of 1 unit.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    Therefore the value of 1 unit is 10.<\/p>\n

    Let us go back to the question. How many strawberries did she pick?<\/p>\n

    Do we find the S at first or the S at the end?<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    Let us review. We have 10 units both at first and at the end. Therefore, we can confidently determine that there are 10 units of S.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Suggested Answer For Q9<\/span><\/h2>\n

    100 strawberries<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Conclusion<\/h2>\n

    I hope that after reading this blog post, you\u2019ve learned how to use the One Item Unchanged Method, which is one of the four Change Strategies.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \ud83e\uddd0\u00a0Did you know that you can use the Change Strategies for these P5 Math topics?<\/strong>\u00a0\ud83e\uddd0<\/p>\n

    \ud83d\udcaf\u00a0Whole Numbers<\/p>\n

    \ud83c\udf70\u00a0Fractions<\/p>\n

    \ud83c\udf55\u00a0Ratio<\/p>\n

    \ud83d\udcca\u00a0Percentage<\/p>\n

    \ud83d\udd22\u00a0Decimals<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Remember also to use the first letter of the variables to represent them in your workings to help you save time when solving P5 Fractions Word Problems.<\/p>\n

    Stay tuned for more tips on solving P5 Math word problems!<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Math GAP” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_margin=”0px||” custom_padding=”0px||” global_module=”244058″ saved_tabs=”all” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_divider color=”#898989″ admin_label=”Divider” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/The-Pique-Lab-Grade-Accelerator-Programme.-CTA.png” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ text_font=”||||||||” text_text_color=”#333333″ text_font_size=”18px” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

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    In this article, we’ll be discussing how to use the Change Strategies to solve this P5 Fractions question from Raffles Girls’ Primary School.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":245282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,71],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"modified_by":"Jaimie Aberia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245186"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246590,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245186\/revisions\/246590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245186"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=245186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}