Please either click on the link to watch the video OR read the instructions below. Once you have finished the instructions, please click the link to work on practicing solving word problems.
When looking to solve a word problem follow the following steps:
- Carefully read the problem. In this careful reading, you should especially seek to clearly identify the question that is to be answered. Also, a good, general understanding of what the problem means. Look for keywords or clue words - One example of clue words is those that indicate what type of mathematical operation is needed, as follows: Clue words indicating addition: sum, total, in all, perimeter. Clue words indicating subtraction: difference, how much more, exceed. Clue words for multiplication: product, total, area, times. Clue words for division: share, distribute, quotient, average.
- Choose a strategy to solve the problem. Here are some of the many possible math problem solving strategies.
- Look for a pattern - This might be part of understanding the problem or it might be the first part of solving the problem.
- Make an organized list - This is another means of organizing the information as part of understanding it or beginning the solution.
- Make a table - In some cases the problem information may be more suitable for putting in a table rather than in a list.
- Try to remember if you’ve done a similar problem before - If you have done a similar problem before, try to use the same approach that worked in the past for the solution.
- Guess the answer - This may seem like a haphazard approach, but if you then check whether your guess was correct, and repeat as many times as necessary until you find the right answer, it works very well. Often information from checking on whether the answer was correct helps lead you to a good next guess.
- Work backwards - Sometimes making the calculations in the reverse order works better.
- Carry out the problem solving strategy. If the first problem solving technique you try doesn’t work, try another.
- Check the solution. This check should make sure that you have indeed answered the question that was posed and that the answer makes sense.
For Example:
In the first week it is open, a toy store sells 45 baseballs. In its second week, the store sells 20 baseballs more than it sold in the first week. How many baseballs did the store sell in all in two weeks?
We know that in the first week 45 baseballs were sold. Looking at terminology we see "more". The word more in this case means we add. So if 45 baseballs were sold in the first week, and 20 baseballs more than last week were sold in the second week we need to add 45+20 to know how many were sold in the second week. 45+20=65. So we have 45 baseballs sold in week one, and 65 in the second week. The last sentence asks how many were sold in all. We must add the 45 to the 65 to find out.
45+65=110
110 baseballs were sold in 2 week.
When we complete the word problem we must finish it with a sentence, so we say 110 baseballs were sole in 2 weeks.
Please click the link below and complete the questions.
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