Remember: More years can beat a bigger start, because growth builds on growth. It is never too late to start.
Read and answer
Read the story first, then answer.
Mia and Leo, grown upMia and Leo were grown up, and they found a calmer made-up garden with a gentle rule: each year, one new coin for every ten inside. On Mia's twentieth birthday, one hundred pretend coins went into the garden, and then she went back to her busy life. Leo was twenty too, with trips to take, so he kept his coins in a pouch and said, "I will plant later." Mia's garden added ten coins in year one, then eleven, then twelve, and each year brought more, because the new coins grew coins too. At thirty, Mia's garden held 256 coins while Leo's pouch held 200. Leo planted his 200, double Mia's start, and grinned. "I will catch up fast!" At forty, Mia's garden held 655 and Leo's held 514. At fifty, Mia held 1694 and Leo 1326, so Mia was still ahead. Mia's coins had grown about seventeen times, and Leo's about six and a half. Time did the work. To match Mia, Leo would have had to plant what her garden held at thirty, 256 coins, not just 200. Leo's garden kept growing, and it is never too late to start. But time is the part nobody can buy back.
1
Look at the table. A garden adds 1 coin for every 10. Leo plants 200, so it adds coins in a year.
2
Mia plants at twenty and Leo at thirty. At age fifty, how many years had Leo's coins grown?
10 years20 years30 years
3
Look at the table. At fifty, Mia's garden holds more coins than Leo's.
4
At forty, Mia holds 655 and Leo holds 514. Who is ahead, and by how much?
Mia by 241Leo by 141Mia by 141
5
Leo planted double Mia's start, so his garden passed hers.
TrueFalse
Think, order and fix
6
Both gardens follow one rule. What made Mia's garden end up bigger?
A luckier gardenA bigger startTen more years to grow
7
To match Mia at thirty, Leo needed to plant coins, not 200.
8
Circle every true sentence.
Both gardens follow the same ruleA bigger start always winsMia's coins grew about 17 times and Leo's about 6 and a halfTime is the part nobody can buy backIt is too late to start at thirty
9
Join each one to what it holds.
1Mia's garden at thirty
2Leo's pouch at thirty
3Mia's garden at fifty
4Leo's garden at fifty
A1694 coins
B200 coins
C256 coins
D1326 coins
10
Put the story in order.
Mia plants 100 coins at twenty
Mia is still ahead at fifty
Leo keeps saving in a pouch
Leo plants 200 coins at thirty
11
Leo says: "I planted double, so I will pass Mia." What did he forget?
Mia's coins had ten more years to growMia planted doubleGardens do not grow
12
Mia's garden held 655 at forty and 1694 at fifty. In those 10 years it grew by coins.
13
Write one thing you could start early. What might extra time do for it?
14
Draw two trees: a taller one for Mia (30 years) and a shorter one for Leo (20 years).
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Answer key · Set A
The two savers, grown up
120 200 holds twenty tens, so 20 new coins.
220 years 30 to 50 is 20 years. Mia's coins grew for 30.
3368 1694 − 1326 = 368.
4Mia by 141 655 − 514 = 141, and Mia has more.
5False Mia is still ahead at fifty. Her coins had ten more years to grow.
6Ten more years to grow Leo planted double, but Mia's coins had ten more years to grow.
7256 Mia's garden held 256 at thirty, so Leo had to plant that much to match.
8Both gardens follow the same rule, Mia's coins grew about 17 times and Leo's about 6 and a half, Time is the part nobody can buy back One rule for both, and time made the difference. It is never too late to start.
91-C, 2-B, 3-A, 4-D These are the numbers in the story. A pouch grows nothing, so Leo's stayed at 200 until he planted.
101, 4, 2, 3 Mia plants first, Leo plants ten years later, and at fifty Mia is still ahead.
11Mia's coins had ten more years to grow Mia's coins grew for thirty years, but Leo's for twenty.
121039 1694 − 655 = 1039.
13Your own words: a grown-up reads it.
Mark each answer, count the right ones and write the score on the sheet.