Copyright © University of Cambridge. All rights reserved.

'Nutty Mixture' printed from https://nrich.maths.org/

Show menu

Nutty Mixture

Nut mixture

Rachel has a bag of nuts.
For every cashew nut in the bag, there are two peanuts.
There are 8 cashews in Rachel's bag. How may peanuts are there?

 
 
Marianne also has a bag of nuts.
In Marianne's bag, for every two cashew nuts, there are three peanuts.
Marianne's bag contains 12 peanuts in total. How many cashews are in her bag?
 
 

Rachel and Marianne decide to mix their bags of nuts together.
What is the ratio of cashew nuts to peanuts in the mix?

Why do this problem?

This problem is a good introduction to ratio. It can also be used to emphasise the language of "for every".

Possible approach

As an introduction, tou may demonstrate the idea of "for every" with the help of counters or cubes (representing the nuts). For example, you could physically group each cashew nut with two peanuts. At first children might need to use equipment to solve the problem or they should be encouraged to draw sketches. If appropriate, a plenary could address how the solution could be reached using mental calculations.

Key questions


Possible extension


Possible support