## PROBLEM 1 Problem text: The Maple City Strikers have 18 players. Each player took 24 shots during a weekend skills challenge. How many shots did the team take in all? Correct answer: 432 shots Worked solution: Step 1 — Multiply the number of players by the number of shots each player took. Step 2 — 18 × 24 = 432. Step 3 — The team took 432 shots in all. Common wrong answers: • 42 shots -> Cause: The student added 18 + 24 instead of multiplying. Reveals: The student may not recognize that “each player” means equal groups. • 332 shots -> Cause: The student made a place value error when multiplying the tens. Reveals: The student may need more practice lining up partial products. ## PROBLEM 2 Problem text: At Greenfield Youth Soccer League, 126 fans came to each Saturday game for 8 weeks. If the same number of fans came each week, how many fans came in all? Correct answer: 1,008 fans Worked solution: Step 1 — Multiply the number of fans each week by the number of weeks. Step 2 — 126 × 8 = 1,008. Step 3 — A total of 1,008 fans came to the games. Common wrong answers: • 134 fans -> Cause: The student added 126 + 8 instead of multiplying. Reveals: The student may need help identifying equal groups in word problems. • 848 fans -> Cause: The student multiplied 100 × 8, 20 × 8, and 6 × 8 but did not regroup correctly. Reveals: The student may understand the steps but needs support with regrouping. ## PROBLEM 3 Problem text: The Harbor Hawks tracked team passes during a tournament. In each game, the team completed 37 passes. They played 16 games this season. How many passes did the Harbor Hawks complete in all? Correct answer: 592 passes Worked solution: Step 1 — Multiply the number of passes in each game by the number of games. Step 2 — 37 × 16 = 592. Step 3 — The Harbor Hawks completed 592 passes in all. Common wrong answers: • 53 passes -> Cause: The student added 37 + 16 instead of multiplying. Reveals: The student may not yet connect repeated equal amounts with multiplication. • 222 passes -> Cause: The student multiplied 37 × 6 but forgot to multiply by the 10 in 16. Reveals: The student may need practice with the second partial product in two-digit multiplication. ANSWER KEY: 1. 432 shots 2. 1,008 fans 3. 592 passes