1. Solving Word Problems
Read the problem. Underline words that imply a mathematical operation. Underline important given information.
Ex) increased by, more than +
Ex) decreased by, less than
2) Identify what you are asked to find and list other important given information.
Ex) Find : Fred’s age
Given: Joanne’s age is 4 more than Fred’s age

2. 3) Assign a variable to the unknown value(s)
Find : Fred’s age = x
Given: Joanne age = x + 4
Write an equation that contains your variable(s).
5) Solve the equation from step 4.
6) Check. Does the answer make physical or mathematical sense? Can Fred’s age come out to be a negative answers? Can it be a fraction?

3. Example #1
A Chinese restaurant charges $11.95 for the adult buffet and $7.25 for the children’s buffet. One family’s bill came to $ If there were three adults in the family, how many children were there?
Step 1: Read and Underline important phrases
Step 2: Find :
Number of children
= x
Step 3: Give a variable name to unknown quantity
Step 4: Build an equation using our variable x.

4. Our Equation will be based on the total bill for the dinner.
Bill = ( Costs for all Adults) + ( Costs for all children)
Bill = ( Cost per Adult)(Number of Adults) +
( Cost per Child)(Number of Children) =
(11.95)
( 3 ) +
(7.25)
(x)

5. Example #2
The cost to replace a water pump in a sports car was $600. This included $375 for the water pump and $45 per hour for labor. Find the number of hours worked by the mechanic?

6. Example #3
The Showcase Cinema charges $7.75 for an adult ticket and $4.75 for a child’s ticket. If a family of six pays $34.50 to get into a show, how many adult tickets and how many children’s tickets did the family purchase?