9.2Math Explorer · Grade 5
Mission progress0 of 10
Chapter 9 · Two-type weighted totals

Lesson 9.2 — Wheels, Prices, Seats, and Other Two-Type Stories

轮子、价格、座位和其他两类问题

A chicken-and-rabbit model is really a story translator. “Heads” can mean models, books, boats, or tickets. “Legs” can mean wheels, cost, seats, or revenue. We will identify the two object types, keep the units consistent, remove any completely known items, and then use a baseline to find both counts.

Name the objects. Name the contribution. Build the baseline.
Grade 5 enrichment40–55 minutesEverything needed is on this page.Objective answer checks
Mission 1

Translate the story before calculating

A toy shop buys 30 airplane and car models. An airplane model has 3 wheels, a car model has 4 wheels, and all the models have 110 wheels altogether. Identify the role of every number.

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30total models
3wheels per airplane
4wheels per car
110total wheels
TypeWhat one object contributesUnknown count
Airplane model3 wheels?
Car model4 wheels?
Total objects30 models
Weighted total110 wheels
Translation rule. First ask, “What is being counted?” Then ask, “How much does one object of each type contribute?”

Check the story roles

Mission 2

Repair an all-airplane baseline

Pretend all 30 models are airplanes. Then replace airplanes with cars until the wheel total reaches 110.

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Model replacement laboratoryTarget: 110 wheels

Move the slider to replace airplane models with car models.

Replace one model at a time

0
30airplanes
0cars
90wheels
20 too fewdifference
One replacement changes the wheel total by 4 − 3 = 1 wheel.
All-airplane baseline
30 × 3 = 90
Extra wheels needed
110 − 90 = 20
Cars
20 ÷ 1 = 20

Complete the solution

Mission 3

Both baselines must agree

You may start with the lower contribution or the higher contribution. A correct route reaches the same pair of counts.

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All-airplane routeSame answer

Why the routes agree

The all-airplane route directly counts the cars, because cars are the upgrades.

The all-car route directly counts the airplanes, because airplanes are the downgrades.

20 cars + 10 airplanes = 30 models
20 × 4 + 10 × 3 = 110 wheels

Read the reverse route

Mission 4

Books: remove the known item first

A teacher buys 18 books for 117 yuan. One is a dictionary costing 17 yuan. The other 17 are science books costing 8 yuan each and storybooks costing 4 yuan each. Find the two unknown book counts.

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Book-cost laboratoryTarget: 117 yuan

The dictionary stays fixed. Change only the 17 unknown books.

Change storybooks into science books

0
1dictionary
0science
17story
85total yuan
Preprocess the known item:
18 − 1 = 17 unknown books
117 − 17 = 100 yuan for those books.
All-story baseline
17 × 4 = 68
Extra cost
100 − 68 = 32
Science books
32 ÷ (8 − 4) = 8

Complete the book problem

Mission 5

Use a “known-item gate”

A two-type method needs exactly two unknown types. If one item or group is completely known, remove both its count and its contribution before building the baseline.

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The two removals

remaining count = total count − known count
remaining contribution = total contribution − known contribution

Removing only the money but not the item count—or only the item count but not the money—creates mismatched totals.

Known-item laboratory

17remaining objects
100remaining total
8high-type
9low-type

Check the preprocessing rule

Use Mission 4’s fixed purchase: 18 books costing 117 yuan, including one 17-yuan dictionary. These questions do not change when you edit the laboratory.

Mission 6

Seats: large and small boats

Forty-six people use 12 completely full boats. Each large boat holds 5 people, and each small boat holds 3. How many boats of each size are used?

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Boat-capacity laboratoryTarget: 46 seats

Upgrade small boats to large boats

0
0large
12small
36seats
10 too fewdifference
(46 − 12 × 3) ÷ (5 − 3) = 5 large boats

Complete the boat problem

Mission 7

Revenue: one-way and round-trip tickets

A class buys 99 train tickets for 280 yuan. Count a round-trip ticket as one ticket, even though it covers an outward and a return journey. A one-way ticket costs 2 yuan and a round-trip ticket costs 4 yuan. Find both ticket counts.

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Ticket-revenue laboratoryTarget: 280 yuan

Upgrade one-way tickets

0
0round-trip
99one-way
198yuan
82 too fewdifference
(280 − 99 × 2) ÷ (4 − 2) = 41 round-trip tickets

Complete the ticket problem

Answer the question asked: To find how many more one-way tickets were sold, compare the two counts. There are 58 one-way and 41 return tickets, so 58 − 41 = 17 more one-way tickets.
Mission 8

Use one translator for many stories

Once a story has been translated into N, a, b, T, the same engine solves models, books, boats, tickets, and many other situations.

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Two-type story laboratory

90baseline aN
20difference
20high-type
10low-type

The translation engine

all-low baseline = aN
high-type count = (T − aN) ÷ (b − a)
low-type count = N − high-type count
Units must match. If T is measured in yuan, then a and b must be yuan per object—not wheels, seats, or an unrelated unit.

Transfer to a new story

Twenty-five passes cost either 3 yuan or 7 yuan. The total cost is 91 yuan.

Mission 9

Two-type story workshop

Solve at least six of the eight problems. The checker tests the final answers. Compare your method with worked review after an attempt.

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Mission 10

Try a fresh challenge

Try these new questions before opening help. Earn your certificate by completing Missions 2, 4, and 9 and answering all five exit questions correctly. Optional reflections and extra exploration do not affect your score.

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Hint

Find the extra wheels above 22 bikes.

Worked solution — open after trying

(62 − 22 × 2) ÷ 2 = 9 cars; 13 bikes give 26 + 36 = 62 wheels.

Hint

Each upgrade adds 3 seats.

Worked solution — open after trying

(78 − 15 × 4) ÷ 3 = 6 large boats; 9 small boats give 42 + 36 = 78 seats.

Hint

Remove the atlas from the cost as well as from the count.

Worked solution — open after trying

130 − 18 = 112 yuan, for 19 books.

Hint

Start with nineteen 4-yuan books.

Worked solution — open after trying

(112 − 19 × 4) ÷ 3 = 12; seven 4-yuan books plus twelve 7-yuan books cost 112 yuan.

Hint

Find both counts before comparing them.

Worked solution — open after trying

(164 − 120) ÷ 2 = 22 return tickets and 18 one-way tickets; 22 − 18 = 4.

🎟️

Two-Type Story Translator

Lesson checkpoints completed

You practised translating story quantities into consistent units and using baseline differences. Revisit any steps for which you needed solution help.

Lesson 9.2 complete

Teaching notes

The known-item laboratory, general translator, added practice, feedback, and exit ticket are new instructional scaffolds.