Billy is 4 years old. He has a big box of Legos, and his mother asks him to give her five Legos from the box. He has trouble deciding how many to give her so he takes a handful and says, "Here, it's five." What is Billy's problem with this task?

Question

Billy is 4 years old. He has a big box of Legos, and his mother asks him to give her five Legos from the box. He has trouble deciding how many to give her so he takes a handful and says, "Here, it's five." What is Billy's problem with this task?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Four-year-olds do not have a scheme for conservation of numbers, meaning they do not yet understand that the amount of Legos is the same regardless of how they are arranged or grouped together. Therefore, Billy may have thought he had given his mother five Legos, but in reality, he may have given her more or less than that.

Billy Is 4 Years Old