Math Word Problems Demystified - A Self Teaching Guide

EVALUATION: Check the answer: 8þ 3  5 ¼ 8 þ 15

¼ 23

EXAMPLE:A psychology class with 52 people is divided into two sections

so that there are four more students in one section than the other. How many

students were in each section?

SOLUTION:

GOAL: You are being asked to find the number of students in two sections.

STRATEGY: Letx¼the number of students in one section andxþ4 be the

number of students in the other section. The equation isxþxþ 4 ¼52.

IMPLEMENTATION: Solve the equation.

xþxþ 4 ¼ 52

2 xþ 4 ¼ 52

2 xþ 4 
 4 ¼ 52 
 4

2 x¼ 48

21 x

21

¼

48

2

x¼ 24

xþ 4 ¼ 28

EVALUATION: Check the answer: 24þ 28 ¼ 52

EXAMPLE:The sum of two numbers is 16. If five times the first number is

equal to three times the second number, find the numbers.

SOLUTION:

GOAL: You are being asked to find two numbers whose sum is 16.

STRATEGY: Letx¼the first number and (16
x)¼the second number.

90 LESSON 9 Solving Number Problems