麻豆官网首页入口

Part-whole model

Here is a part-whole model.

Part whole model with the 2 parts at the top
Girl pointing to her right at the model on the page.

Sometimes the model is rotated. It looks different, but it still has two parts and a whole.

Part whole model with the 2 parts at the bottom
Part whole model with the 2 parts on the right
Part whole model with the 2 parts on the left

We can use this model to help us solve problems.

Back to top

Addition

What is 4 + 5?

We can put 4 things in one of the parts and 5 in the other part.

By combining the two parts in the whole circle we can find the sum of 4 + 5.

4 plus 5 in a part whole model
A boy pointing to the text on the page.

The answer will look like this.

4 plus 5 equals 9 shown in a prt whole model
A boy looking towards the calculation to a question and thinking.

We can also use numbers instead of counters.

This model shows 6 + 3 = 9.

6 plus 3 equals 9 shown in a part whole model
A boy smiling after working out the answer with a part whole model.

You can also use part-whole models to help with addition problems involving bigger numbers.

Back to top

Example 1

What is 25 + 14?

We can partition the smaller number and add the tens and ones separately.

25 plus 14. 14 is split into 10 and 4
Girl thinking about the question on her right.

We can use the part-whole model to split 14 into 1 ten and 4 ones.

It's much easier to add 10 to 25, then add the 4.

25 + 10 = 35

Then add the 4.

35 + 4 = 39

Girl thinking about the question on her right.
Back to top

Subtraction

Let鈥檚 take a look at subtraction now.

Subtraction is where we know the whole and only one of the parts.

So this question 12 鈥 5 = ? would look like this as a part-whole model.

12 minus 5 shown as a part whole model
Girl is pointing to text on her right and looking at us.

It is telling us we need to subtract the part from the whole to find our answer (which is the missing part).

12 - 5 = 7

12 minus 5 equals 7 shown on a part whole model

Just like with addition, we can use a part-whole model to help partition larger numbers to make them easier to deal with in subtraction problems.

Back to top

Example 2

What is 35 鈥 14?

First, partition 35 into 30 and 5.

Then we can look at the number 14 and subtract 10 from 30 and subtract 4 from 5.

35 minus 14 on a part whole model. 35 is split into 30 and 5
Girl pointing to the text above her and looking up.

First subtract the tens from each number.

30 鈥 10 = 20

Then subtract the ones in each number.

5 鈥 4 = 1

We then recombine the two numbers to make the answer 21.

25 鈥 14 = 21

Some subtraction questions are more challenging and need us to partition the whole more flexibly.

Girl pointing to the text above her and looking up.
Back to top

Example 3

What is 43 - 18?

Look at how this number was split.

43 minus 18 on a part whole model. 43 is split into 30 and 13
A boy thinking about the part whole model above him.
  • What do you notice?

The split isn鈥檛 tens and ones. This time it has been split into 30 and 13.

If you add 30 and 13 together it makes 43.

  • Why split 43 in this way?

The 8 ones in 18 is bigger than the ones digit in 43, so it would make subtracting one from the other difficult.

If the number 43 is split into 30 and 13, it is possible to subtract 8 from 13.

43 minus 18 as a part whole model. 10 and 8 have been taken away from 43
Boy smiling

13 鈥 8 = 5

And then:

30 鈥 10 = 20

By recombining 20 and 5 into 25 we are now able to solve this problem.

42 鈥 18 = 25

Boy smiling
Back to top

Activity

Back to top

Karate Cats Maths game. game

Train with the Karate Cats to become an expert in addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, place value and more!

Karate Cats Maths game
Back to top

More on Adding and subtracting

Find out more by working through a topic