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Question from Regian, a parent:

How can I write a word problem for the following numerical expression

3 (4+3)+2

And then how do I simplify the expression

Hi Regain,

Here is one such problem.

Jordan invited 4 girls and 3 boys from her grade 2 class to her birthday party. Se also invited 4 girls and 3 boys from each of the other grade 2 classes in her school. Her mother told her she should invite her two brothers also, so she did. How many children did Jordan invite to her birthday party?

Solution:

Jordan invited 4 + 3 = 7 children from her class so she invited 7 students from each of the 3 grade 2 classes for a total of 3 ×7 = 21 school mates. She also invited her2 brothers for a total of 21 + 2 = 23 guests.

This is exactly how you simplify the expression

3 × (4 + 3) + 2 = 3 × 7 + 2 = 21 + 2 = 23

I hope this helps,
Penny

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