Tips, tricks and strategies: help solving word problems

If you need help solving word problems, you've come to the right place. Mathematics has always been a fascinating subject for me because of how logical and accurate it is. It is similar to learning another language and, in the case of solving verbal problems, it is very similar to solving a mystery. If you are going to be good at solving word problems, you must be a good investigator and be able to pick up clues to help you solve the mystery. Working with word problems requires reading comprehension as well as the ability to solve mathematical equations. With that said, the purpose of this article is to offer help in solving word problems and to provide aspiring mathematicians with a strategy to solve these problems.

Let's start with the following simple example:

The length of an NBA basketball court is 44 feet more than it is wide. Express the length of the court in terms of its width.

The first step in working with word problems is simple, but crucial. Read the whole problem ... then read it again! As basic as it may sound, this is where reading comprehension skills come into play. It is during this crucial time that you must do the following:

1. Identify the information you have:

The court is 44 feet longer than it is wide.

2. Identify the information you don't have (and still need):

The length of the court.

3. Determine what the word problem asks for:

An equation that expresses length in terms of width.  redactiesommen

The next step is to start organizing your tracks. First, assign variable names to pieces of information you have and don't have. The names must be clear and meaningful. Then we will assign to the length of the basketball court the name of the variable "L" and the width of the name of the variable "W".

One thing that has always helped me understand concepts is drawing them on paper. Generally, when you can visualize a concept, it is easier for you to understand it, be it mathematics or anything else. So after identifying the information you have and assigning your unknown variables, draw a picture. Be sure to tag it with known information and unknown variables.