Laura and sean find the product of 2/3 x 4 using different methods.

laura: it’s 2 thirds of 4.
2/3 x 4 = 4/3 + 4/3 = 2 x 4/3 = 8/3

sean: it’s 4 groups of 2 thirds.
2/3 + 2/3 + 2/3 + 2/3 = 4 x 2/3 = 8/3

use words, pictures, or numbers to compare their methods.

So our equation is

Laura does:

while Sean does:

So sean sums four times the number 2/3, while Laura sums two times the number 4/3, this is because we are working with a multiplication, and the order of the factors does not alter the product.

The two are splitting the equations in different ways.

360 different combinations