# Comparing Growth, Variation 1

Alignments to Content Standards: 4.OA.A

In later grades, students will learn that "which grows more" means "which has the greater absolute increase?" and "which has the greater growth rate?" means "which has the greater increase relative to the starting amount?" but students won't see this type of language for two or three years. Teachers need to be aware of this and work to ask questions as unambiguously as possible; for example, when asking for multiplicative comparisons, use language such as, "How many times greater is $x$ than $y$." They should also be prepared to address this potential for confusion along the way.
Viewing this additively, both snakes grew 2 feet and therefore grew the same amount. Viewing it multiplicatively, Jewel grew $\frac{2}{6}$ its length, while Clyde grew $\frac{2}{8}$ its length. From this perspective, Jewel grew more. Given the purposeful phrasing of the problem, both interpretations are reasonable, but the goal is to understand the two perspectives, thus the difference between additive and multiplicative reasoning.