Word Problems Problem Solving Strategies –Understand –Plan –Carry Out –Check
Understand Read carefully Visualize the situation Draw a picture if applicable
Plan Inventory what is known –Pay attention to units Assign descriptive variables to unknowns Find the appropriate formulas
Carry Out Solve for the unknown symbolically Substitute in the given values with correct units Compute the answer
Check Is the answer reasonable? Does it come out in the correct units? Does it answer the question?
Words for Operations Keep in mind that English is ambiguous Pay attention to the context
Subtraction
Addition
Multiplication
Division
Equals is the same as gives will be was is equivalent to