How to Plug in Numbers to Solve a Word Equation

By Mark Zegarelli from Basic Math and Pre-Algebra For Dummies When you write out a word equation, you have the facts you need in a form you can use to find the solution. You can often solve the problem by plugging numbers from one word equation into another. The following examples show you how to use word equations to solve three problems.

Example 1: addition and subtraction

Some problems involve simple addition or subtraction. Heres an example: Bobo is spinning five fewer plates than Nunu (Bobo dropped a few). Nunu is spinning 17 plates. Altogether, how many plates are Bobo and Nunu spinning? From reading the problem, you know the following: Nunu = 17 Bobo + 5 = Nunu Plugging in the information gives you the following: Bobo + 5 = Nunu 17 If you see how many plates Bobo is spinning, feel free to jump ahead. If not, heres how you rewrite the addition equation as a subtraction equation: Bobo = 17 5 = 12 The problem wants you to find out how many plates the two clowns are spinning together. That is, you need to find out the following: Bobo + Nunu = ? Just plug in the numbers, substituting 12 for Bobo and 17 for Nunu: Bobo 12 + Nunu 17 = 29 So Bobo and Nunu are spinning 29 plates.

Example 2: multiplication and division

At times, a problem may note relationships that require you to use multiplication or division. Heres an example: The height of a house is half as long as its width, and the width of the house is 80 feet. How tall is the house? From the word equation, you know the following: Width = 80 Height = Width 2 You can plug in information as follows, substituting 80 for the word width:

Height = Width 80 2 = 40 So you know that the height of the house is 40 feet.

Example 3: multiple equations

Pay careful attention to what the question is asking. You may have to set up more than one equation. Heres an example: The express train is moving three times faster than the local train. If the local train is going 25 miles per hour, whats the difference in speed between the express train and the local train? From the word equation, you know the following: Local = 25 Express = 3 Local So plug in the information you need: Express = 3 25 Local = 75 In this problem, the question at the end asks you to find the difference in speed between the express train and the local train. Finding the difference between two numbers is subtraction, so heres what you want to find: Express Local = ? You can get what you need to know by plugging in the information youve already found: Express 75 Local 25 = 50 Therefore, the difference in speed between the express train and the local train is 50 miles per hour.

How to Solve Complex Word Problems

By Mark Zegarelli from Basic Math and Pre-Algebra For Dummies To solve complex word problems, you use the same skills as when you solve basic word problems, but the calculations become harder. For example, instead of a dress costing an amount such as $30, which is easy to calculate, it may cost $29.95. Also, the amount of information in the problem may increase. A lot of problems that look tough arent much more difficult than simple problems. For example, consider this problem: Aunt Effie has $732.84 hidden in her pillowcase, and Aunt Jezebel has $234.19 less than Aunt Effie has. How much money do the two women have altogether? One question you may have is how these women ever get any sleep with all that change clinking around under their heads. But moving on to the math, even though the numbers are larger, the principle is still the same as in a simpler word problem. Start reading from the beginning: Aunt Effie has $732.84. . . . This text is just information to jot down as a simple word equation: Effie = $732.84 Continuing, you read: . . . Aunt Jezebel has $234.19 less than Aunt Effie has. Its another statement you can write as a word equation: Jezebel = Effie $234.19 Now you can plug in the number $732.84 where you see Aunt Effies name in the equation: Jezebel = Effie $732.84 $234.19 So far, the big numbers havent been any trouble. At this point, though, you probably need to stop to do the subtraction: $732.84 $234.19 $498.65 Now you can jot this information down as follows: Jezebel = $498.65 The question at the end of the problem asks you to find out how much money the two women have altogether. Heres how to represent this question as an equation: Effie + Jezebel = ? You can plug information into this equation: Effie $732.84 + Jezebel $498.65 = ? Again, because the numbers are large, you probably have to stop to do the math: $732.84 + $498.65 $1,231.49 So, altogether, Aunt Effie and Aunt Jezebel have $1,231.49.

As you can see, the procedure for solving this problem is basically the same as for a simpler word problem. The only difference is that you have to stop to do some addition and subtraction.

How to Convert a Basic Word Problem into an Equation

By Mark Zegarelli from Basic Math and Pre-Algebra For Dummies Word problems help you understand the logic behind setting up equations in real-life situations. The skill you need most when working with word problems is understanding how to turn the situation youre facing into numbers you can calculate. Generally speaking, converting a word problem into an equation involves reading through the problem and setting up word equations that is, equations that contain words as well as numbers. Most word problems give you information about numbers, telling you exactly how much, how many, how fast, how big, and so forth. Here are some examples: Nunu is spinning 17 plates. The width of the house is 80 feet. If the local train is going 25 miles per hour . . . You need this information to solve the problem. And paper is cheap, so dont be afraid to use it. (If youre concerned about trees, write on the back of all that junk mail you get.) Have a piece of scrap paper handy and jot down a few notes as you read through a word problem. For example, heres how you can jot down Nunu is spinning 17 plates: Nunu = 17 Heres how to note that . . . the width of the house is 80 feet: Width = 80 The third example tells you, If the local train is going 25 miles per hour. . . . So you can jot down the following: Local = 25 Dont let the word if confuse you. When a problem says If so-and-so were true . . . and then asks you a question, assume it is true and use this information to answer the question. When you jot down information this way, youre really turning words into a more useful form called a word equation. A word equation has an equal sign like a math equation, but it contains both words and numbers. When you start doing word problems, you notice that certain words and phrases show up over and over again. For example, Bobo is spinning five fewer plates than Nunu. The height of a house is half as long as its width. The express train is moving three times faster than the local train.

Youve probably seen statements such as these in word problems since you were first doing math. Statements like these look like English, but theyre really math, so spotting them is important. You can represent each of these types of statements as word equations that also use Big Four operations (addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication). Look again at the first example: Bobo is spinning five fewer plates than Nunu. You dont know the number of plates that either Bobo or Nunu is spinning. But you know that these two numbers are related. You can express this relationship like this: Bobo = Nunu 5 This word equation is shorter than the statement it came from. Heres another example: The height of a house is half as long as its width. You dont know the width or height of the house, but you know that these numbers are connected. You can express this relationship between the width and height of the house as the following word equation: Height = width 2 With the same type of thinking, you can translate The express train is moving three times faster than the local train into this word equation: Express = 3 local As you can see, each of the examples allows you to set up a word equation using one of the Big Four operations. The end of a word problem usually contains the question that you need to answer to solve the problem. You can use word equations to clarify this question so you know right from the start what youre looking for. For example, you can write the question, All together, how many plates are Bobo and Nunu spinning? as Bobo + Nunu = ? You can write the question How tall is the house as: Height = ? Finally, you can rephrase the question Whats the difference in speed between the express train and the local train? in this way: Express Local = ? At this point, you can plug in numbers to solve the word problem.

Applying Algebraic Formulas and Equivalences in Word Problems

By Mary Jane Sterling Part of the Math Word Problems For Dummies Cheat Sheet

When it comes to math, don't let the idea of solving word problems overwhelm you. If you prepare and have the right attitude, you can approach word problems confidently. One way to prepare is to have the following algebraic formulas and equivalences handy:

Math Word Problems For Dummies

From Math Word Problems For Dummies by Mary Jane Sterling If the thought of working math word problems frightens you, don't panic. Arm yourself with the following algebraic, geometric, and financial formulas before you start so you're ready to dive in and solve word problems with confidence.

Applying Algebraic Formulas and Equivalences in Word Problems

When it comes to math, don't let the idea of solving word problems overwhelm you. If you prepare and have the right attitude, you can approach word problems confidently. One way to prepare is to have the following algebraic formulas and equivalences handy:

Formulas for Perimeter, Area, Surface Area, and Volume

You'll find geometric figures showing up frequently in word problems. Geometric figures have names, classifications, and characteristics and are measured in two or more ways. Study this list of the formulas you need for flat and solid figures and what the measurements mean:

Figuring Simple and Compound Interest in Math Word Problems

When you're working on money-type mathematical word problems, financial formulas come in handy. The following formulas are for simple and compound interest. (Note: The interest formulas involve a percentage that needs to be changed into a decimal before being inserted into the formula.)

Translating ACT Math Word Problems

By Lisa Zimmer Hatch and Scott Hatch Part of the ACT For Dummies Cheat Sheet

When you see a word problem on the ACT Math Test, you may feel a little lost at first. Straightforward math equations seem so much more, well, straightforward. Even though word problems are written in English, they may seem like theyre written in a foreign language. To help you with the translation, the following table provides you with some of the more common words you encounter in word problems and tells you what they mean (and look like!) in math terms.
Common Words and Their Math Counterparts Plain English More than, increased by, added to, combined with, total of, sum of Decreased by, diminished by, reduced by, difference between, taken away from, subtracted from, less than, fewer than Of, times, product of Ratio of, per, out of, quotient Percent Is, are, was, were, becomes, results in How much, how many, what, what number Math Equivalent Add (+) Subtract () Multiply Divide Divide by 100 Equals (=) Variable (x, y)

Subtraction phrases such as taken away from, subtracted from, less than, and fewer than require you to switch the order of the quantities youre subtracting. For example, Ten decreased by six means 10 6 (which equals 4), but Ten subtracted from six means 6 10, or 4.