- By setting up a system and following it, you can be successful with word
problems. So what should you do? Here are some recommended steps:
- 1. Read the problem carefully and figure out what it is asking you
to find.
- 2. Assign a variable to the quantity you are trying to find.
- 3. Write down what the variable(s) represents.
- 4. Write an equation.
- 5. Re-read the problem and write an equation for the quantities
given in the problem.
- 6 Solve the equation.
- 7. Answer the question in the problem.
- 8. Check your solution
- Let's Practice:
- When 6 is added to four times a number, the result is 50. Find the
number.
- Step 1: What are we trying to find?
A number.
- Step 2: Assign a variable for the number.
Let’s call it n.
- Step 3: Write down what the variable represents.
Let n = a number
- Step 4: Write an equation.
- We are told 6 is added to 4 times a number. Since n represents the
number, four times the number would be
4n. If 6 is added
to that, we get 6 + 4n
. We know that answer is 50, so now we have an equation
6 + 4n = 50
- Step 5: Solve the equation. 4n + 6 = 50 4n + 6
-
6 = 50- 6
4n = 44 n = 11
4 4
- Step 6: Answer the question in the problem
- The problem asks us to find a number. We decided that n would be the
number, so we have n = 11. T
he
number we are looking for is 11.
- Step 7: Check the answer.
- The answer makes sense and checks in our equation
4(11) + 6 = 50
-
50 = 50