About Fruit Math
This is algebra before anyone uses the word. A banana stands for some number, an apple for another, and the child works out which by reasoning across several picture equations. The substitution and elimination they do here is exactly what they will later do with x and y, but with no notation to get in the way - which is why children who find algebra intimidating often solve these easily.
What this game teaches
- Treating a symbol as a stand-in for an unknown number
- Using one equation to find a value, then substituting it into another
- Elimination reasoning when two unknowns appear together
- Checking a solution by putting the values back into the original equations
- Building confidence with the idea behind algebra before the notation arrives
How to play
- Several equations appear using fruit pictures instead of numbers.
- Work out what each fruit is worth by comparing the equations.
- Select the answer to the final equation.
- Thirty levels add more unknowns and larger values.
Before you start
A child needs fluent addition and subtraction and, for the later levels, multiplication. The arithmetic itself should be easy so that all the effort goes into the reasoning.
For teachers
A strong bridge activity when introducing algebra in Class 5 or 6. Solve one on the board using fruit, then rewrite the same puzzle with letters and show the class it is the same problem - the point lands more firmly than any explanation of what a variable is.
For parents
Ask your child to tell you what one fruit is worth before they answer the final question. If they can do that, they have understood it. If they are pattern-matching to the answer options instead, cover the options and ask again.
Related games
- Bead Counting — Class 1-2
- Time Recognition Game — Class 2-5
- Cross Addition Puzzle — Class 3-6