Math Word Problems Demystified - A Self Teaching Guide

Hence there are 8 different possibilities:

HHH THH

HHT THT

HTH TTH

HTT TTT

EVALUATION:Since there are two ways each coin can fall, there are
2  2  2 ¼8 ways.

Find a Pattern

Many problems can be solved by recognizing that there is a pattern to the
solution. Once the pattern is recognized, the solution can be obtained by
generalizing from the pattern.

EXAMPLE:A wealthy person decided to pay an employee $1 for the first
day’s work, $3 for the second day’s work, and $5 for the third day’s work.
How much did the employee earn for 30 days’ work?

SOLUTION:

GOAL: You are being asked to find the amount the employee earned for a
total of 30 days’ work.

STRATEGY: You can make a table starting with the first day and
continuing until you see a pattern.

IMPLEMENTATION:

Day Amount earned Total

11 1

23 4

35 9

4716

5925

LESSON 21 Using Other Strategies 261