What is the equation?

Question

A fifth grade class checks the pond water each day. They collect some 4 ounce samples of water and one 8 ounce sample of water.

What equation describes the relationship between the total ounces of water collected, w, and the number of 4 ounce samples, s?

Answer 1

Hello, Laura,

Let's review the variables we are given, s and w.:

s is the number of 4oz water samples

We only have one 8oz sample, so we don't need to assign it a variable name.

w is the total volume collected.

The amount of water that each category contains is the volume/sample (4 oz/sample and 8 oz/sample) times the number of samples, s and 1, respectively.

We get:

4s for the total volume from the 4 oz samples, and

8 for the 8oz sample, since we only have one..

To find the total, just add the two:

Total Volume(oz.) w = 4s + 8

Bob