Solving Word Problems

“Word Problems scare me!”

“Word Problems make me nervous!”

“Word Problems? I just skip them!”

Don’t Worry! With just 4 easy steps, you can become… a Word Problem Whiz!

Step 1 UNDERSTAND the problem. What are you trying to figure out? Here’s an example:

In this problem, what are you trying to figure out? Yesterday, Alex saw 14 birds in his backyard. Today, he saw 12. How many birds did he see in all? In this problem, what are you trying to figure out?

If you said: “How many birds did Alex see in all?” then… You’re right!

Should you ADD or SUBTRACT? Step 2 Get a PLAN. How will you answer the question? Should you ADD or SUBTRACT?

Look for clues. Here are some CLUE WORDS that will help you decide what to do.

Addition Clue Words in all altogether sum total of increased by more than combined, together added to

Subtraction Clue Words how many more how many are left difference between/of decreased by minus less less than fewer than change (money)

Multiplication Clue Words of times multiplied by product of increased/decreased by a factor (this type can involve both addition or subtraction and multiplication)

Division Clue Words per split part out of ratio of quotient of separated percent (divided by 100)

is are was were will be gives yields sold for Clue Words for Equals is are was were will be gives yields sold for

Let’s look at the example again. Yesterday, Alex saw 14 birds in his backyard. Today, he saw 12. How many birds did he see in all? Do you see any CLUE WORDS?

If you said… “in all,” then… You’re right!

The words “in all” tell us that we should ADD! Now that we UNDERSTAND the problem, and have a PLAN, we’re ready for the next step!

Step 3 SOLVE it! Write a number sentence using the information in the problem, and…

Work it out!

Give it a try! Write a number sentence and SOLVE it. Yesterday, Alex saw 14 birds in his backyard. Today, he saw 12. How many birds did he see in all? Write a number sentence and SOLVE it.

If you wrote… 14 + 12 = 26 then… You’re right!

Step 4 CHECK. Does your answer fit the question?

We had to find out how many birds Alex saw in all. We added the number he saw yesterday and the number he saw today.

Our answer was “Alex saw 26 birds in all.” It makes sense!

Let’s try another one! The great history of the United States can be told along its many rivers. The seven longest rivers in the U.S. are shown in the table. River Length (mi) Missouri 2,540 Mississippi 2,340 Yukon 1,980 Rio Grande 1,900 St. Lawrence Arkansas 1,460 Colorado 1,450

Here’s what we want to find out. How much longer is the Missouri River than the Arkansas River? River Length (mi) Missouri 2,540 Mississippi 2,340 Yukon 1,980 Rio Grande 1,900 St. Lawrence Arkansas 1,460 Colorado 1,450

Step 1 - Understand What facts do you know? What do you need to find? Read the problem carefully. What facts do you know? What do you need to find?

Step 1 - Understand You know the length of the seven longest rivers. You need to find how much longer the Missouri River is than the Arkansas River.

Step 2 - Plan How do the facts relate to each other? Plan a strategy to solve the problem.

Step 2 - Plan The Missouri River is 2,540 miles long, and the Arkansas is 1,460 miles long. To find the difference between the 2 lengths, subtract the length of the Arkansas from the length of the Missouri.

Use Clue words to choose operation! The word “difference” tell us that we should SUBTRACT! Now that we UNDERSTAND the problem, and have a PLAN, we’re ready for the next step.

Give it a try! How much longer is the Missouri River than the Arkansas River? Write a number sentence and SOLVE it.

If You Wrote: 2,540 – 1,460 Then You’re RIGHT!!!

Step 3 - Solve Use your plan to solve the problem. 2,540 length of Missouri - 1,460 length of Arkansas 1,080

Step 3 - Solve So, the Missouri River is 1,080 miles longer than the Arkansas River.

Step 4 - Check Look back at the problem. Does your answer make sense? If not, solve the problem another way.

Step 4 - Check Estimate. Round 2,540 to 2,500 and 1,460 to 1,500. 2,500 – 1,500 = 1,000 Since 1,000 is close to 1,080, the answer is reasonable.

We did it! We are Word Problem Whizzes!

Here are the steps once more: Step 1 – UNDERSTAND the problem. Step 2 – Get a PLAN. Step 3 – SOLVE it! Step 4 – CHECK.