Number (addition and subtraction): Turtle Eggs
The Problem
Hope, the hawksbill turtle, laid a total of 800 eggs in 6 different nesting sites on Paradise Beach in Australia. There was a different number of eggs in each nesting site.
The nesting sites are shown in the picture opposite. The larger nesting sites contained between 150 and 200 eggs. The smaller nesting sites contained between 100 and 120 eggs.
How many eggs might Hope have laid in each of the six nesting sites?
Once you have found a solution, compare it to a partner’s. What do you notice?
Did you know?
Once a turtle’s nest is complete, the mother never returns to it. The eggs and resulting hatchlings are left to fend for themselves and must find their own way to the sea! Sadly, only one in a thousand hatchlings will survive to adulthood. Birds, raccoons and fish are just a few of the predators these vulnerable creatures face in the wild.
Visualising the Problem and Getting Started
Raphaella said, “I think it is possible that Hope laid more than 180 eggs in each of the larger nesting sites.”
Do you agree with Raphaella? How do you know?
