Let's learn with an example.
Captain Richie found a treasure map. It tells him to sail north 520 miles, then east for 350 miles. Then, he has to sail northeast for another 275 miles. How far does Captain Richie have to sail in total to get to the mysterious island?
It looks like Captain Richie needs to do a lot of sailing before he can get to the island! 🏝️
Now let’s write the equation for the total distance.
520 + 350 + 275 = ?
We can write this in column, or vertical, form to find the sum.
The answer is 1,145.
Captain Richie has to travel 1,145 miles in all to get to the mysterious island.
That’s a long journey! 😅
Just before Captain Richie sets sail, he finds a second map.
This map shows different directions. It says to head east 400 miles. Then sail north 320 miles. Finally, sail west 115 miles. Which map offers a shorter journey? How much shorter?
We need to compare the first map with the second map.
To do this, we need to do two steps:
Step 1. Add all the distances in the second map.
Step 2. Compare the total distance for the second map with the total distance for the first map.
Let's get started.
We add all the distances in the second map:
400 + 320 + 115 = ?
We can find the answer using column form:
The total is 835.
That means using the second map will take 835 miles. ✅
So, which map offers a shorter journey? 🤔
The first map will take 1,145 miles.
The second map will take 835 miles of travel.
Map 2 is shorter. ✅
835 miles is shorter than 1145 miles.
It will be shorter for Captain Richie to use the second map. ⛵
We still need to figure out how much shorter? 🧐
We can subtract the numbers.
1145 – 835 = ?
Let's subtract using column form:
The path in the second map is 310 miles shorter than the path in the first map. ✅
Great job.
Now, try the practice to build up your problem-solving skills.