Problem Solving Goal: Create and solve an equation to answer a real-life problem. Eligible Content: A1.1.2.1.1 / A1.1.2.1.2 / A1.1.2.1.3

Tips Look for key words like sum, difference, product, quotient, more than, less than, increased, decreased, times, divided … Figure out what the unknown is and assign a variable. Draw a picture if it would be helpful.

Example #1 Jill has 6 more than 4 times the amount of money that her brother has. If Jill has $46, how much does her brother have? 6+4x = 46 x = $10

Example #2 John has $80 and Mary has $200. Every week John saves $5 of his allowance, and Mary spends $15 from her savings. When will they have the same amount of money? 80 + 5x = 200 – 15x 6 weeks

Example #3 At East High School, 334 students are taking Spanish. This number is increasing at a rate of about 30 students per year. The number of students taking French is 460 and has been decreasing at a rate of about 12 students per year. When will the same number of students be taking Spanish and French? 334 + 30x = 460 – 12x 3 years

Example #4 You are designing a house with four windows on the back. Each window is 2 feet wide. There are 5 feet between each end window and the edges of the house. The width of the house is 39 feet. How far apart should the windows be placed? 3x + 18 = 39 x = 7 feet apart

Example #5 You are designing a page for your yearbook. You want to have 3 pictures across the page. Each page is 9 inches wide. You want to leave a margin on each side of 1 inch, and you want 0.5 inches between the pictures. How wide can the pictures be? 3x + 3 = 9 x = 2 inches

Example #6 The perimeter of the triangle is 34 inches. Find the value of x. x + x + 4 + 12 = 34 x = 9 inches x 12 x + 4

Practice Worksheet – “Chapter 2 Problem Solving”

Homework Worksheet – “Chapter 2 Problem Solving Homework”