LESSON 2: NUMBER SENTENCES

What are number sentences?

A number sentence is an arrangement of numbers and symbols:

3 + 9 = 12 55 – 6 = 49 8 × 5 = 40 12 ÷ 2 = 6

You will not always work with number sentences. Sometimes a maths problem is expressed in words, and before you can solve it mathematically, you must first formulate a number sentence for the problem.

Example: The neighbour’s dog had puppies. There are 4 females and 3 males. How many puppies are there in total?

Start by reading the problem again and writing down the information.

Total number of puppies: 4 females plus 3 males

The question is not asking you to count the females and males separately, therefore you must write the number sentence as follows:

Now it is easy to solve the problem:

4 + 3 = ?

4 + 3 = 7

This is an example of a number sentence in which you add numbers together.

You can also write a number sentence with – , × and ÷.