Tara and 3 friends held a garage sale and made 945. Each will get an share of the sale.What equation to use

Question

M divided by 3 = 945

 

M x 3 = 945 

 

M divided by 4 = 945

 

M x 4 = 945

Answer 1

For this question, you have to figure out how many people is sharing the profit.  It is Tara AND 3 friends, so there are total of 4 people.  So you could cross out the first two choices already. 945 is the grand total of profit, so each of them will get an even split from it.  M * 4 = 945

 

"M" has to be smaller than 945.  

Answer 2

There's a total of $945, and each of the four girls (Tara plus 3 friends) gets a share, so you want $945 ÷ 4 = M, which is to say, M * 4 = $945.

 

Here's a trick. If you have to decide between multiplying and dividing, think about what type of answer you need. In this case, you need an answer that is less than $945, since you are splitting $945 between four people. If you multiply $945 by 4, you will get a number larger than $945, which isn't what you want. If you divide $945 by 4, you will get a number less than $945, which is what you want. So in this case, you know you need to divide. This sometimes works to help decide whether to multiply or divide.

Answer 3

It's "Tara and 3 friends"  --  that's a total or 4 people.

 

The total amount of money is $945.  The 4 people "share" that.

 

Now, the meaning of the variable M has not yet been described, but it appears in all the equations.  Should we divide M by 3 or 4 to get $945?  Should we multiply M by 3 or 4 to get $945?

 

Well, the money is "shared" (that is, divided) among the 4 people.  So, whatever we do, it goes 4 ways, not 3.

 

And, the amount of money that each person receives (that's a good meaning for M) is one-fourth of $945.

 

Which equation fits that description?