CCSS 7.EE.B.3 · multi-step problems & reasonableness
This 7.EE.B.3 route builds on exact rational-number operations: choose and combine operations in a multi-step situation, convert forms when useful, and compare the exact result with a mental estimate before accepting it.
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Multi-step rational-number problems · Grade 7 standard · Seed 271801
For 3 days, a gardener removes 22 3/4 gallons from a barrel each morning and adds 17 3/4 gallons each afternoon. What is the net change after 3 days? Give a quick whole-number estimate too.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
A door is 29 1/2 inches wide and a towel bar is 12 3/4 inches long. If the bar is centered, how far is each end from the nearest edge? Estimate first, then calculate exactly.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
The temperature starts at -7°F, changes by 5 1/2°F, then changes by 2 1/2°F. Find the final temperature and estimate by rounding each change to a whole degree.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
A door is 32 1/2 inches wide and a towel bar is 11 1/4 inches long. If the bar is centered, how far is each end from the nearest edge? Estimate first, then calculate exactly.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
The temperature starts at 3°F, changes by -1°F, then changes by 2°F. Find the final temperature and estimate by rounding each change to a whole degree.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
The temperature starts at 0°F, changes by -1°F, then changes by 1/2°F. Find the final temperature and estimate by rounding each change to a whole degree.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
The temperature starts at 6°F, changes by -3 1/2°F, then changes by 1 1/2°F. Find the final temperature and estimate by rounding each change to a whole degree.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
A door is 33 1/2 inches wide and a towel bar is 11 1/4 inches long. If the bar is centered, how far is each end from the nearest edge? Estimate first, then calculate exactly.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
A door is 29 3/4 inches wide and a towel bar is 14 1/2 inches long. If the bar is centered, how far is each end from the nearest edge? Estimate first, then calculate exactly.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
For 4 days, a gardener removes 27 3/4 gallons from a barrel each morning and adds 19 3/4 gallons each afternoon. What is the net change after 4 days? Give a quick whole-number estimate too.
Estimate: ____________________
Exact answer: ________________
Multi-step rational-number problems combine several operations, often with fractions, decimals and percents in the same situation. The standard asks students to check the exact result against a mental estimate, so every problem here rewards a quick estimate before the exact calculation begins.
Have students write an estimate first and circle it. If the exact answer is far from the estimate, they should look for an operation or a decimal point in the wrong place before submitting. This is more valuable than the calculation itself, and the answer key gives both the exact value and a comparison for checking.
Estimate before or alongside exact computation so the estimate can actually check the result.
Track units through every step—gallons, inches, degrees, or dollars are part of the answer.
Use exact fractions or cents for the final calculation even when the reasonableness check uses rounded values.
Continue the 7.EE progression
Rational-number word problems focus on choosing signed operations; this route explicitly adds multi-step planning and a reasonableness/estimation check required by 7.EE.B.3.
No. Money scenarios are constructed and solved in integer cents; only the separate estimate is rounded.