standard_description: Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times an integer power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the other. For example, estimate the population of the United States as 3 × 108 and the population of the world as 7 × 109, and determine that the world population is more than 20 times larger.
problem_activity: Task
There are two snakes at the zoo, Jewel and Clyde. Jewel was six feet and Clyde was eight feet. A year later Jewel was eight feet and  Clyde was 10 feet. When asked which one grew more, students gave varying answers.
Mia said, “Since the two snakes both grew two feet ($8-6=2$ and $10-8=2$) then I would say that they grew the same amount.”
Raul said, “They both grew 2 feet, but Jewel was only 6 feet to start with while Clyde was 8 feet to start with. That means Jewel grew more compared to her original length (2 is a larger part of six than it is of eight).“
Compare the two arguments. Describe the difference in the way the two students are thinking about the problem. Suppose a one-foot snake grew two feet and a 20-foot snake grew two feet. Could the two students still make the same type of argument?


aligns: no