A story problem for 388 + 235
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Story problem
During a school book drive, the Grade 5 class collected 388 storybooks in the first week. In the second week they collected 235 more. How many storybooks did they collect in total?
Correct answer
623 storybooks
Explanation
Adding 388 and 235 may look intimidating at first, yet it follows the same clear steps we use for any two-number addition. Think of the numbers lined up one above the other, with their rightmost digits (the ones place) perfectly aligned.
388
+ 235
______
1. Ones place: 8 + 5 = 13. That is greater than ten, so we write the 3 under the ones column and carry the extra ten (1) to the tens column. Carrying is simply renaming: thirteen ones equals one ten and three ones, so the extra ten shifts left.
2. Tens place: 8 + 3 = 11, then add the 1 we carried, giving 12. Again the result is larger than nine, so we write 2 under the tens column and carry the additional hundred (1) to the hundreds column. Twelve tens equals one hundred and two tens, so that spare hundred slides left.
3. Hundreds place: 3 + 2 = 5, then add the carried 1 to reach 6. Because 6 is less than ten, nothing else must be moved.
Now the columns read 623, and no further carries remain. That is the finished sum.
Another way to see the same result is by breaking each number into place values and then recombining:
388 = 300 + 80 + 8
235 = 200 + 30 + 5
Add hundreds: 300 + 200 = 500
Add tens: 80 + 30 = 110
Add ones: 8 + 5 = 13
Finally, add those subtotals: 500 + 110 + 13 = 623. This matches the column-addition answer and shows why carrying works: 110 supplies an extra hundred and 13 supplies an extra ten when we rename them.
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