CBSE Class 4 · Mathematics
Equal Groups
Official NCERT chapter from Math-Mela (book code demm1). ExamMaster notes are original teaching at CBSE Class 4 depth.
This lesson follows the official chapter “Equal Groups” in Math-Mela. The words below are ExamMaster’s teaching, not a paste from the book. Use the NCERT chapter for the classroom sequence; use these notes to hold the idea without copying exercises or figures.
- CBSE Class 4
- Easy level
- 8 concepts
1Animal jumps are equal groups on a track
A frog that always jumps 3 steps makes equal groups of 3 on the track. The jump-size is the group size.
A jump that sometimes 3 and sometimes 5 is not this chapter’s equal groups.
Figure. A jump of fixed size is one equal group. Four hops of 3 on the track are four groups, so the landing is 4 × 3 = 12. The track makes the groups visible before the multiplication sentence.
How it works
- Name the jump-size3 steps.
- Repeat that sizeEqual groups.
- Mark the landings0, 3, 6, 9, …
2Fill the blanks with how many jumps of a given size
How many jumps of 4 reach 20? That is how many equal groups of 4 sit in 20.
Filling a blank with a favourite number is not a jump-count.
Figure. The missing number is how many equal hops, not a new hop size. Count the arrows of 5 from 0 to 20: there are four, so the blank is 4 and 4 × 5 = 20.
How it works
- Name the landing20.
- Name the jump-size4.
- Count the jumps20 ÷ 4 = 5.
3Multiplication names those equal groups
5 \times 4 means 5 groups of 4 (or 5 jumps of 4). The product is the landing.
Writing 5 + 4 is a different story.
Figure. Multiplication is a name for equal groups already made. Four separate piles of 3 are 4 × 3. The sentence is allowed only after every pile has the same count.
How it works
- Count the groupsHow many jumps.
- Name the size of eachThe jump-size.
- Write groups \times sizeThat product is the total.
Jumps of 4 to 20
A hopper jumps 4 steps each time. How many jumps land on 20?
- Jump-size4
- Landing20
- Jumps20 ÷ 4 = 5
- Check5 × 4 = 20
Pro tip. Division asks how many equal groups. Multiplication rebuilds the landing.
4An array is rows of jumps
3 rows of 4 is the same 12 as 3 jumps of 4 if each jump is a row. An array lets you see rows × columns.
A scattered pile is not an array until you make rows.
Figure. An array is the same equal groups, stood in rows. Three rows of four cells are 3 × 4. You can read it the other way as four columns of three — same twelve cells.
How it works
- Make equal rowsSame count in each.
- Count rows and the row-size3 and 4.
- Write 3 \times 4 = 12Rows of jumps.
5A leftover jump is a remainder if the track does not fit
Jumps of 5 on a 23-step track: 4 jumps make 20, leftover 3. That 3 is a remainder, not a fifth jump.
Forcing a fifth jump of 5 would overshoot.
Figure. When the track is 14 and each jump is 4, three jumps land on 12 and 2 are left. The leftover is a remainder, not a mistake. Write 14 = 3 × 4 + 2.
How it works
- Fill full jumps4 × 5 = 20.
- See what remains3.
- Keep it as remainder23 = 4 × 5 + 3.
6Skip-count to find the total
4, 8, 12, 16, 20 is skip-count by 4. The last word after 5 skips is the total.
Skip only by the jump-size you named.
Figure. Skip-counting is saying the landings: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20. Each spoken number is one more equal group of 4. Five landings mean 5 × 4 = 20.
How it works
- Name the skip4.
- Say the next words4, 8, 12, …
- Stop after the asked number of jumpsLast word is the landing.
7Division asks how many jumps, or how long each jump is
20 \div 4 can mean “how many jumps of 4” or “if 4 jumps make 20, how long is each”. Two readings, one sentence.
Do not swap the reading mid-problem without saying so.
Figure. Division has two honest readings of the same twelve. How many jumps of 3 fit in 12? Four jumps. How long is each jump if 12 is split into 4 jumps? Three. Same array, two questions.
How it works
- Hear which is unknownNumber of jumps, or jump-size.
- Write the divisionTotal ÷ known = unknown.
- Check by multiplying backUnknown × known = total.
8Fact families link × and ÷
If 5 \times 4 = 20, then 20 \div 4 = 5 and 20 \div 5 = 4. The family is those four sentences (and 4 \times 5 = 20).
A fact family does not invent a new landing.
Figure. A fact family is four sentences about one array. 3 × 4 and 4 × 3 both make 12; 12 ÷ 3 and 12 ÷ 4 undo those two readings. Nothing new is invented — the same three numbers keep swapping jobs.
How it works
- Start from a product you trust5 × 4 = 20.
- Write the two divisions20 ÷ 4 and 20 ÷ 5.
- Keep the same three numbersNo new guest.
23 steps with jumps of 5 leave
- Remainder 3 after 4 full jumps
- A fifth jump of 5
- No leftover because 23 is large
4 × 5 = 20; 23 − 20 = 3.
Notes
- The official chapter title is “Equal Groups”. Teach the school test for that title, not a contest shortcut.
- If a step needs a later class, stop. The next official chapter will pick it up.
Formulas
- a \times b means a groups of b.
- a \div b asks how many groups of b, or the size of each of a groups.
- Total = (full groups\times size) + remainder.
Recap
Hold these pegs from the official chapter “Equal Groups”. The wording is ExamMaster’s teaching, not a textbook recap.
- Animal jumps are equal groups on a track
- A frog that always jumps 3 steps makes equal groups of 3 on the track.
- Fill the blanks with how many jumps of a given size
- How many jumps of 4 reach 20? That is how many equal groups of 4 sit in 20.
- Multiplication names those equal groups
- 5 \times 4 means 5 groups of 4 (or 5 jumps of 4).
- An array is rows of jumps
- 3 rows of 4 is the same 12 as 3 jumps of 4 if each jump is a row.
- A leftover jump is a remainder if the track does not fit
- Jumps of 5 on a 23-step track: 4 jumps make 20, leftover 3.
- Skip-count to find the total
- 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 is skip-count by 4. The last word after 5 skips is the total.
Practise Equal Groups
Reading is free and needs no account. Practice, mocks and progress live in the app.
- A 4-question practice set that ends the chapter
- 1 quick check with worked explanations
- Timed mocks scored with the real marking scheme
- Readiness tracked per topic, kept on your device