Division
Division is just as important in cooking mathematics as multiplication, though for slightly different reasons. Multiplication is helpful for increasing recipes and serving sizes, but division can be used to do the opposite; decrease recipes and serving sizes. It is also handy for sharing food and making sure everyone gets an equal amount.
Happy Birthday to you!
Dorothy Hammond & Country Women's Association of New South Wales, ountry Women's Association of New South Wales calendar of puddings : recipes for each day of the year, 1936, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3081563194
Dorothy Hammond & Country Women's Association of New South Wales, ountry Women's Association of New South Wales calendar of puddings : recipes for each day of the year, 1936, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3081563194
Activity 1
Have a look at the Country Women’s Association Pudding Calendar on Trove. Get everyone to find their birthday pudding.
Use this as a starting point for some fraction work – start basic with 10/30 ten of 32 students and then ask them to simplify the fraction to 1/3 or 3/4, or whatever number is applicable
Birth month fractions
- How many members of the class were born in x month?
Ingredient fractions
- How many cakes include x ingredient?
- How many students have x kind of cake?
Let’s get catering
Country Women's Association in Tasmania. Flinders Island., Flinders Island : souvenir : cookery book, 1946, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2531663107
Country Women's Association in Tasmania. Flinders Island., Flinders Island : souvenir : cookery book, 1946, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2531663107
Approximate conversions for the Guide to Catering (rounded to the nearest 50)
- TEA – Allow 250g for 50 guests
- SUGAR – 500g for 50 guests
- MILK – 2L for 50 guests
- SOUP – 150ml per guest
- FRUIT SALAD – 1K fruit salad per 10 guests
- POULTRY – 150g of chicken per guest
- MEAT – 50g per guest
- CRAYFISH – 150g per guest
Acitivity 2
Taking inspiration from the ‘catering guide’ on page 78 of the CWA Flinders’ Island Cookery Book, give the students problems based on catering focusing on division.
- How much tea does each person get?
- How much sugar does each person get?
- How much milk does each person get?
- How much fruit salad does each person get?
- If you have 100g, 200g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 5kg of meat, how many guests are you expecting?
- If you have 5kg, 10kg, 15kg, 20kg, 50kg 100kg of fruit salad how many guests have you catered for?
- If you have 500g, 1kg, 1.5kg, 2kg, 3kg, 5kg, 10kg of tea how many guests are you expecting?
Cake
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070534781
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070534781
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070558144
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070558144
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070558832
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070558832
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070560313
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070560313
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070560994
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070560994
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070561710
Simpson Bros, The Secret of successful baking, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3070561710
Activity 3
Give each student a piece of card that is cut into a common cake shape: a circle, square, oval or rectangle. This will be the top of their cake. Keeping in mind that the ultimate goal of this activity is to practice division, get the students to decorate their ‘cakes’ however they like.
Ask the students to cut the ‘cake’ into a series of equal parts, documenting what they’ve got after each cut. So 2 halves, 4 quarters, 8 eighths, etc.
Reassemble the ‘cake’ one piece at a time. Ask them to represent this on a number line.
The various collections of ‘cake’ pieces can now be used as arrays. Ask the students to divide the pieces up between different numbers of people. Discuss dividing with remainders.
Swapping ‘cake’ arrays may be a good way to keep this activity interesting.
More to explore
