Math Word Problems Demystified - A Self Teaching Guide

3. Fill in the information in the table.


4. Write an equation for the situation.

EXAMPLE:A person walked from his home to the football stadium at a rate

of 3 miles per hour. After the game, he rode the bus back the same way at a

rate of 22 miles per hour. If the total time he spent traveling was 2 hours, how

far did he walk?

SOLUTION:

GOAL: You are being asked to find the distance the person walked from his

home to the stadium.

STRATEGY: The distance he walked and rode is the same, but the direction

is different. See Figure 13-1. Place the rate 3 miles per hour for walking and

22 miles per hour for riding in the boxes under Rate. Lett¼the time he

walked and 2
tthe time he rode. Place these in the boxes under Time. To

get the distance, multiply the rate by the time and place these expressions in

the boxes under Distance as shown.

Rate  Time ¼ Distance

Walking 3 t 3 t

Riding 22 2 
t 22(2
t)

Since the distances are equal, the equation is 3t¼22(2
t).

IMPLEMENTATION: Solve the equation:

3 t¼ 22 ð 2 
tÞ

3 t¼ 44 
 22 t

3 tþ 22 t¼ 44 
 22 tþ 22 t

Fig. 13-1.

132 LESSON 13 Solving Distance Problems