NCERT Solutions for Class 5th Maths Chapter 9 Susie's and Sunitha's ways of dividing, and packing coconuts into bags — Susie's Farm in Kerala

Book page 124–125 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.

1. Susie and Sunitha have a large coconut farm and they have harvested 1,117 coconuts in April. They sold 582 coconuts equally to 6 regular customers. How many coconuts did each customer get? Estimate the answer first. Do you realise that each customer will likely get less than 100 coconuts?

Answer

Each customer got 97 coconuts.

Estimate first. 6 × 100 = 600, and 600 is more than 582. So each customer must get a little less than 100 coconuts. Now do the division and see if the answer matches the estimate.

Susie's way — take away small chunks of 6. She takes away 120 coconuts (that is 6 × 20) again and again.

6) 582 ( 20 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 10 + 7
   −120 → 462
   −120 → 342
   −120 → 222
   −120 → 102
     −60 → 42
     −42 → 00

20 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 10 + 7 = 97

Sunitha's way — take away one big chunk. She sees straight away that 6 × 90 = 540.

6) 582 ( 90 + 7
−540 → 42
−42 → 00

90 + 7 = 97

Why both work: Every chunk you take away is a whole number of sixes. Adding up how many sixes you removed gives the quotient. Susie removed the sixes in six little bites; Sunitha removed them in two big bites. The total is the same.

Check by a second route: 6 × 97 = 582 ✓ And 97 is just under 100, exactly as the estimate said.
Answer: 97 coconuts for each customer.

Q2.

Do you think Sunitha's method is better? Discuss which one you would prefer and why.

Answer

Sunitha's method is better for a quick answer, because it needs only 2 steps instead of 6.

	Susie's way	Sunitha's way
Chunks taken away	120, 120, 120, 120, 60, 42	540, 42
Number of steps	6	2
Table facts needed	only 6 × 20	6 × 90
Chances of a mistake	more, as there are more subtractions	fewer

Sample answer for the class discussion: Both methods give 97, so both are correct. I would prefer Sunitha's method because it is shorter and there are fewer subtractions to get wrong. But Susie's method is safer when I am not sure how big a chunk to take — I can always take a small chunk and go again. The more of my tables I know, the bigger the chunks I can take, and the closer I get to Sunitha's way.

The habit to build: Before you start, ask "what is the biggest chunk I can take away in one go?" Estimating first (6 × 90 = 540, close to 582) is exactly what lets you take a big chunk.

Q3.

Each bag can hold 25 coconuts. How many bags would be needed to pack 97 coconuts?

Answer

4 bags.

We need to find how many bags of 25 hold 97 coconuts. So we divide 97 by 25.

Count in 25s: 25, 50, 75, 100. Three bags hold 25 + 25 + 25 = 75 coconuts.
What is left? 97 − 75 = 22 coconuts.
Those 22 still need a bag. A fourth bag is needed, even though it will not be full.
So the answer is 3 + 1 = 4 bags.

97 ÷ 25 → quotient 3, remainder 22
N = D × Q + R
97 = 25 × 3 + 22 ✓
Bags needed = 3 full + 1 part-full = 4 bags

Why we round up: You cannot leave 22 coconuts lying loose. Every leftover coconut still has to go into a bag, so a part-full bag counts as a whole bag.

Careful: The answer to the division is 3, but the answer to the question is 4. Always read the question again once you have the quotient.

Q4.

2. They pack the remaining coconuts for drying and extracting oil. They can pack 25 coconuts in each bag. How many bags will they need to pack the remaining coconuts? (Guess the number of bags needed first. Use the strategies learnt.)

Answer

22 bags.

Step 1 — how many coconuts are left? They harvested 1,117 and sold 582.

1117 − 582 = 535 coconuts

Step 2 — guess first. 25 × 20 = 500, which is close to 535. So the answer will be a little more than 20 bags.

Step 3 — divide 535 by 25 using big chunks.

25) 535 ( 20 + 1
−500 → 35 (25 × 20 = 500)
−25 → 10 (25 × 1 = 25)

Quotient = 20 + 1 = 21, Remainder = 10

The book asks: can we write 30 here? No. 25 × 30 = 750, which is bigger than 535. You can never take away more than you have.

Step 4 — read the question again. 21 bags are full and 10 coconuts are still loose. Those 10 need one more bag.

Bags = 21 full + 1 for the leftover 10 = 22 bags

Check by a second route: 21 bags hold 21 × 25 = 525 coconuts. 525 + 10 = 535 ✓ And in the rule N = D × Q + R: 535 = 25 × 21 + 10 ✓
Answer: 22 bags.

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