Problem 4

New Technique: Solve by Eliminating Possibilities

Charlotte has a bag filled with bubble gum , she tried to count them but kept losing her place. She was trying to evenly divide them into two stacks so that she could share with her brother Elijah, but there was one piece left over. Charlotte knows enough about numbers to know that she must have an odd amount of gum, so she tried to break it into three stacks and then four and each time there was one piece left over. Finally, she broke them into five stacks and there were NO pieces left over.

How many pieces of gum does Charlotte have - she knows that she has less than 100 pieces.

Isn't the real question why can't Charlotte Count?

Step 1: Write down the 5 clues given in this problem.

Step 2: Use at least one clue to make a list of possible answers. (This is called a systematic list)

Step 3: Use the other clues to cross out numbers that can't be the answer based on the other clues

TIP: There is more than one right answer