Calculate Total Employees: 20 Shops × 5 Average Workers Problem

Q: Why do I multiply the average by the number of shops?

The average tells us how many employees are typically in each shop. Since there are 20 shops, we need to add up all those employees: 5 + 5 + 5... (20 times). Multiplication is just a faster way to do repeated addition!

Q: What if the problem asked for the average instead of the total?

Then you'd divide! If you knew there were 100 total employees in 20 shops, you'd calculate: $ 100 ÷ 20 = 5 $ employees per shop on average.

Q: Can I solve this problem by adding 5 twenty times?

Yes! That would give you $ 5 + 5 + 5 + ... $ (20 times) = 100. But multiplication is much faster than repeated addition, especially with larger numbers.

Q: What does 'average' mean in word problems?

Average means the typical or usual amount in each group. It's like saying 'if you spread everything out evenly, each group would have this much.'

Q: How can I check if my answer makes sense?

Ask yourself: 'Does 100 employees sound reasonable for 20 shops?' You can also work backwards: $ 100 ÷ 20 = 5 $ employees per shop matches the given average!

Average Multiplication with Multiple Groups

There are 20 shops in a shopping mall.

If the average number of employees in each shop is 5, then how many employees are there in the shopping mall altogether?

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Step-by-step written solution

Follow each step carefully to understand the complete solution

Understand the problem

There are 20 shops in a shopping mall.

If the average number of employees in each shop is 5, then how many employees are there in the shopping mall altogether?

Step-by-step solution

To solve this problem, we'll proceed as follows:

Step 1: Use the formula for finding the total number of employees based on the average and the number of shops.
Step 2: Substitute the values given in the problem into the formula.
Step 3: Perform the multiplication to find the total number of employees.

Now, let's implement these steps:
Step 1: The formula used is: Total employees = Average number of employees per shop $\times$ Number of shops.
Step 2: Substitute the given values: Total employees = $5 \times 20$ .
Step 3: Calculate the result: $5 \times 20 = 100$ .

Therefore, the total number of employees in the shopping mall is $100$ .

Final Answer

$100$

Key Points to Remember

Essential concepts to master this topic

Formula: Total = Average per group × Number of groups
Calculation: Multiply directly: $5 \times 20 = 100$ employees
Check: Divide total by groups: $100 ÷ 20 = 5$ average ✓

Common Mistakes

Avoid these frequent errors

Adding instead of multiplying average and number of groups
Don't add 5 + 20 = 25! This gives the wrong total because addition doesn't account for the average being repeated across all groups. Always multiply: average × number of groups to get the total.

Practice Quiz

Test your knowledge with interactive questions

Calculate the average of $$ 11 $$ and $$ 7 $$ .

FAQ

Everything you need to know about this question

Why do I multiply the average by the number of shops?

The average tells us how many employees are typically in each shop. Since there are 20 shops, we need to add up all those employees: 5 + 5 + 5... (20 times). Multiplication is just a faster way to do repeated addition!

What if the problem asked for the average instead of the total?

Then you'd divide! If you knew there were 100 total employees in 20 shops, you'd calculate: $100 ÷ 20 = 5$ employees per shop on average.

Can I solve this problem by adding 5 twenty times?

Yes! That would give you $5 + 5 + 5 + ...$ (20 times) = 100. But multiplication is much faster than repeated addition, especially with larger numbers.

What does 'average' mean in word problems?

Average means the typical or usual amount in each group. It's like saying 'if you spread everything out evenly, each group would have this much.'

How can I check if my answer makes sense?

Ask yourself: 'Does 100 employees sound reasonable for 20 shops?' You can also work backwards: $100 ÷ 20 = 5$ employees per shop matches the given average!

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