Problems

An image of chickens and sheep.

Materials:

pencil and paper

Question:

On a farm there were some chickens and sheep.
Altogether there were 8 heads and 22 feet.

How many chickens were there?

Possible Questions for Getting Started:

How will you try to find the answer?
How many legs would there be for 8 hens? What about 8 sheep?

Hint: Some students may find it helpful to sketch different possibilities using circles for heads and sticks for legs.

Extension Question:

Mikhala went to the zoo with her family. When they first arrived, they looked through a fence and saw 12 legs walk by. How many animals did they see?

Adapted from nrichmaths.org