Arithmetic Grade Five

Lesson One hundred and seventy-seven: Parentheses and Missing Numbers


Consider the following two problems:


        __ * 5 + 5 = 50

        __ * (5 + 5) = 50

What numbers complete these number sentences?

	__ * 5 + 5 = 50

	MISSING NUMBER: 9
 


	___ * (5 + 5) = 50

	MISSING NUMBER: 5

The only difference between the two statements is the addition of parentheses in the second statement. But the parentheses make a big difference when it comes to figuring out what the missing number is.

Here's another example:

 
     6 + __ * 7 = 20

     MISSING NUMBER: 2

     (6 + __) * 7 = 63

     MISSING NUMBER: 3

Now you get to try a few of these yourself.

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