Multiplication and Division Problem: Calculate Total Cake Slices for Students

Multi-step Multiplication with Word Problems

Teacher Ana brought 5 cakes to class.

Teachers Silvia and Monica also brought cakes and tripled the number of cakes.

Each cake was divided into 12 slices.

How many students could eat cake if each student eats one slice?

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Step-by-step written solution

Follow each step carefully to understand the complete solution
1

Understand the problem

Teacher Ana brought 5 cakes to class.

Teachers Silvia and Monica also brought cakes and tripled the number of cakes.

Each cake was divided into 12 slices.

How many students could eat cake if each student eats one slice?

2

Step-by-step solution

First, we find how many cakes there are in total.

Let's pay attention to the phrase: "Silvia and Monica tripled the number of cakes"

That is, if Ana brings 5 cakes, then now there are:

5×3=15 5\times3=15

Now we find the number of slices.

If each cake is divided into 12 slicesand there are a total of 15 cakes, then:

15×12=180 15\times12=180

180 total slices. In other words, enough for 180 students.

3

Final Answer

180

Key Points to Remember

Essential concepts to master this topic
  • Rule: Identify sequential operations and work step by step
  • Technique: First find total cakes: 5 × 3 = 15 cakes
  • Check: Verify final answer: 15 cakes × 12 slices = 180 ✓

Common Mistakes

Avoid these frequent errors
  • Misinterpreting 'tripled the number of cakes'
    Don't think 'tripled' means adding 3 more cakes = only 8 total! This confuses addition with multiplication. Always remember that 'tripled' means multiply by 3, so 5 cakes becomes 5 × 3 = 15 total cakes.

Practice Quiz

Test your knowledge with interactive questions

\( 74+32+6+4+4=\text{?} \)

FAQ

Everything you need to know about this question

What does 'tripled the number of cakes' actually mean?

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When something is tripled, you multiply by 3. So if Ana brought 5 cakes, tripling means 5×3=15 5 \times 3 = 15 total cakes, not 5 + 3 = 8 cakes.

Why do I multiply by 12 at the end?

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Each cake is divided into 12 slices. Since we have 15 cakes total, we need to find the total number of slices: 15×12=180 15 \times 12 = 180 slices.

How do I know which operation to do first?

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Read the problem step by step! First, find how many cakes there are in total. Then, calculate how many slices you can make from all those cakes.

What if I get confused by all the numbers?

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Make a list! Write down: Ana's cakes = 5, Total after tripling = 15, Slices per cake = 12. Then multiply the last two numbers.

Can I solve this problem in one step?

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You could write 5×3×12=180 5 \times 3 \times 12 = 180 , but it's safer to work step by step. This way you can check each step and avoid mistakes!

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