Word Problems Using Fractions (Bar Model)

[sballard2]

Malik has 5/8 as much money as Emilio. Altogether, they have $195. How much money does Emilio have?


I was thinking this is a two-part equation. Am I on the right track?

Malik = x +5/8
Emilio = y
x+y =$195

 

[Steven G]

So if x turns out to be 100, then Malik has 100+5/8 = $100 5/8????

If Emilio has for example $100 and Malik has 1/2 as much as Emilio, then how would you figure out how much Malik has? State how you would figure out how much Malik has rather than just stating how much Malik has!

 

[Dr.Peterson]

Malik has 5/8 as much money as Emilio. Altogether, they have $195. How much money does Emilio have?


I was thinking this is a two-part equation. Am I on the right track?

Malik = x +5/8
Emilio = y
x+y =$195

There are two main problems here.

First, when you wrote your equation for Malik, you used x for Emilio's amount, right? So you should stick with that, rather than switch to y. (The basic error here is that you need to define a variable before using it.)

Second, x + 5/8 means 5/8 (of a dollar) more than Emilio. You want to write something that means "5/8 as much as Emilio". If you knew how much Emilio had, how would you calculate this?

 

[sballard2]

5/8(Emilio)?

 

[Dr.Peterson]

5/8(Emilio)?

So if Emilio's amount is called x, your expression for Malik's amount would be (5/8)x, right?

Now use the expressions for the two people's amounts to write an equation that says the total is $195.

 

[lev888]

Malik has 5/8 as much money as Emilio. Altogether, they have $195. How much money does Emilio have?


I was thinking this is a two-part equation. Am I on the right track?

Malik = x +5/8
Emilio = y
x+y =$195

I would use a system of 2 equations. But the title mentions "bar model" - I'm guessing this is something different from a system of equations.