after school program wants to take a field trip. They have 5 vans and 4 cars. Each van can hold 5 students. Each car can hold 4 students. How many students can go on a field trip?

Answer 1

The best way to figure out this kind of problem is to multiply the number of vans times the number of students each van can hold, and then multiply the number of cars times the number of students each car can hold. Then add the two products (vans and cars) together. Another way to solve this problem is to draw a picture. Draw 5 boxes to represent each van and then draw 4 circles to represent each car. Then add your tally mark "students." Each box gets 5 tally marks and each circle gets 4 tally marks. Add your tally marks together for your answer.