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Worksheet Grade 5 Math

Quill Lake Sediment Jars: A Grade 5 Fraction Line Plot Worksheet

Grade 5 students build a line plot of sediment depths in fractions of an inch, then add and subtract fractions to answer questions about the data.

Objectives

  1. Students will build a line plot from measurements given in fractions of an inch.
  2. Students will add and subtract fractions to answer questions from a line plot.

Vocabulary

Key words: line plot, fraction, sediment, data

Teacher overview

Quill Lake is a fictional lake where a class collects water in eight jars and lets the mud settle. Each jar has a layer of sediment measured in fractions of an inch. This worksheet has students plot those eight depths on a line plot, then add and subtract the fractions to answer questions. A common student error is adding fractions with unlike denominators without first rewriting them, so remind students to use a common denominator such as eighths.

Quill Lake Sediment Jars: A Grade 5 Fraction Line Plot Worksheet — Grade 5 Math
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Student Worksheet

Here are the sediment depths in the eight jars, in inches:

1/4, 1/4, 1/2, 1/8, 3/8, 1/2, 1/4, 3/4

  1. Make a line plot. Mark a number line from 0 to 1 inch in eighths, and put an X above each jar's depth.
  2. How many jars are there in all?
  3. Which depth appears most often on your line plot?
  4. Add all eight depths to find the total sediment. Rewrite each fraction in eighths first.
  5. If the total sediment were shared equally among the 8 jars, how much would each jar hold?
  6. What is the difference between the deepest jar and the shallowest jar?
  7. Two jars each measure 1/2 inch. What is their combined depth?
  8. How much deeper is the 3/4-inch jar than a 1/4-inch jar?
  9. Explain in one or two sentences how the line plot helped you find the most common depth.
  10. One jar measures 3/8 inch and another measures 1/4 inch. What is their total depth?

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key
  1. Answer: A line plot from 0 to 1 with X marks at the eight depths. Marks: three Xs at 1/4, two Xs at 1/2, one X at 1/8, one X at 3/8, and one X at 3/4.
  2. Answer: 8 jars. Count the values in the list.
  3. Answer: 1/4 inch. Three jars measure 1/4 inch, more than any other depth.
  4. Answer: 3 inches. In eighths: 2/8 + 2/8 + 4/8 + 1/8 + 3/8 + 4/8 + 2/8 + 6/8 = 24/8 = 3 inches.
  5. Answer: 3/8 inch. 3 inches divided by 8 jars = 3/8 inch in each jar.
  6. Answer: 5/8 inch. Deepest is 3/4 = 6/8 and shallowest is 1/8, so 6/8 - 1/8 = 5/8 inch.
  7. Answer: 1 inch. 1/2 + 1/2 = 1 inch.
  8. Answer: 1/2 inch. 3/4 - 1/4 = 2/4 = 1/2 inch.
  9. Answer: The line plot stacks an X for each jar, so the tallest stack of Xs shows the depth that appears most often, which is 1/4 inch.
  10. Answer: 5/8 inch. 3/8 + 1/4 = 3/8 + 2/8 = 5/8 inch.

Differentiation

Support

Give students a pre-drawn number line already marked in eighths so they only place the X marks. Provide a fraction strip showing that 1/4 equals 2/8 and 1/2 equals 4/8 before item 4.

Extension

Ask students to add a ninth jar with a fractional depth that would raise the total to exactly 3 1/2 inches, and show the addition that proves their number is correct.

ELL supports

Label the line plot with both the fraction and a small picture of a jar filling to that mark. Provide a sentence frame for item 9: "The line plot helped because the tallest stack of X marks shows ___."