{"id":5525,"date":"2013-02-26T00:35:32","date_gmt":"2013-02-26T00:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/SchoolTutoring.com\/help\/?p=5525"},"modified":"2014-12-02T08:27:04","modified_gmt":"2014-12-02T08:27:04","slug":"math-practice-solving-word-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/math-practice-solving-word-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Math Practice: Solving Word Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview:\u00a0 Word Problems Are a Special Kind of Reading<\/strong>
\nMost people say that word problems or story problems are the most difficult part of math,\u00a0 whether they are still attending school or have graduated.\u00a0 Word problems involve a thorough reading, attention to detail, and finding the equation or equations behind the story presented in the problem.\u00a0 Keywords provide clues to what type of operations the student will use to find the solution, and what the equation will look like.<\/p>\n

Read the Problem Thoroughly<\/strong>
\nThe first step to solving a word problem is to read the problem thoroughly to the end.\u00a0 Word problems are different than reading literature or reading in any other content area.\u00a0 They are not written to highlight a main theme, or to present facts about a subject area.\u00a0 Their only purpose is to provide a “real world” context for an application of a particular skill in math, and to solve a problem. That is the only story that “story problems” tell.<\/p>\n

Find Similiarities to Other Problems in Homework<\/strong>
\nStory problems are usually after a section in the math textbook that presents a particular skill, as practice with using that skill. \u00a0Usually, the problem set will present equations to solve in numerical form first, and then story problems after a few of those equations.\u00a0 Do not be fooled by the story problems, as they have the same type of underlying equation with a lot more words.\u00a0 If the first few questions on a math homework assignment are numerical equations, the story problems will boil down to the same type of equations.\u00a0 Similarly, a math test will test for the type of skills students have already learned.<\/p>\n

Use Key Words to Solve the Problem<\/strong>
\nA story problem’s sole reason for being there is to provide a real-world example of a mathematical relationship.\u00a0 On a second reading, key words stand out as clues to what type of relationship the equation will be.\u00a0 Is the problem asking for a total or a sum?\u00a0 The equation will be an addition problem.\u00a0 If it is asking for a difference or that something is less, it will involve subtraction.\u00a0 If it is asking for how many times, multiplication.\u00a0 Ratio or quotient, will mean division.\u00a0 At that point, drawing a picture or diagram of the problem can help.\u00a0 It doesn’t have to be fancy, as stick figures or boxes will work just as well to clarify the problem.<\/p>\n

Make Sure the Answer Fits in the Problem<\/strong>
\nAfter finding the equation that underlies the story problem, and solving the problem, it’s also important to plug the numbers back in and make sure the answer makes sense.\u00a0 Checking work is often a required part of math homework, as well as using math in the real world.\u00a0 It also shows that the process is clearly understood.<\/p>\n

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Overview:\u00a0 Word Problems Are a Special Kind of Reading Most people say that word problems or story problems are the most difficult part of math,\u00a0 whether they are still attending school or have graduated.\u00a0 Word problems involve a thorough reading, attention to detail, and finding the equation or equations behind the story presented in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[998,1087,2582],"class_list":["post-5525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-math-fundamentals","tag-key-words","tag-math-operations","tag-word-problems"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schooltutoring.com\/help\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}