Word Problems

Word problems do not come with equations. To solve a word problem, it is often helpful to rewrite the problem using mathematical notation.

Here are some strategies for approaching a word problem:

1. Always start off by reading the entire problem.
2. List information you know and assign variables to anything you don't know.
3. Identify what the problem is asking for.
4. Look for key words to identify which operations you will need to use. Here are some examples:

$$$\begin{array}{ll} \textbf{Addition: } & \text{more than, increased by, total of, sum} \\ \textbf{Subtraction: } & \text{less than, subtract, difference } \\ \textbf{Multiplication: } & \text{times, product of, multiplied by} \\ \textbf{Division: } & \text{per, quotient of, percent, ratio of} \\ \end{array}$$$

(Please note that these examples do not represent a complete list of key words.)

Note by Arron Kau
3 years, 8 months ago

MarkdownAppears as
*italics* or _italics_ italics
**bold** or __bold__ bold
- bulleted- list
• bulleted
• list
1. numbered2. list
1. numbered
2. list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
paragraph 1paragraph 2

paragraph 1

paragraph 2

[example link](https://brilliant.org)example link
> This is a quote
This is a quote
    # I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.

print "hello world"
# I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.

print "hello world"
MathAppears as
Remember to wrap math in $$...$$ or $...$ to ensure proper formatting.
2 \times 3 $$2 \times 3$$
2^{34} $$2^{34}$$
a_{i-1} $$a_{i-1}$$
\frac{2}{3} $$\frac{2}{3}$$
\sqrt{2} $$\sqrt{2}$$
\sum_{i=1}^3 $$\sum_{i=1}^3$$
\sin \theta $$\sin \theta$$
\boxed{123} $$\boxed{123}$$

Sort by:

Great Help

- 3 years ago