Step 1. Read the word problem. Make sure you understand all the words and ideas. You may need to read the problem two or more times. If there are words you don’t understand, look them up in a dictionary or on the internet.
Step 2. Identify what you are looking for.
Step 3. Name what you are looking for. Choose a variable to represent that quantity.
Step 4. Translate into an equation. It may be helpful to first restate the problem in one sentence before translating.
Step 5. Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
Step 6. Check the answer in the problem. Make sure it makes sense.
Step 7. Answer the question with a complete sentence.
Solve a Coin Word Problem
Step 1. Read the problem. Make sure you understand all the words and ideas, and create a table to organize the information.
Step 2. Identify what you are looking for.
Step 3. Name what you are looking for. Choose a variable to represent that quantity.
Use variable expressions to represent the number of each type of coin and write them in the table.
Multiply the number times the value to get the total value of each type of coin.
Step 4. Translate into an equation. Write the equation by adding the total values of all the types of coins.
Step 5. Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
Step 6. Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
Step 7. Answer the question with a complete sentence.
Step 1. Read the problem and make sure you understand all the words and ideas. Draw a figure and label it with the given information.
Step 2. Identify what you are looking for.
Step 3. Name what you are looking for and choose a variable to represent it.
Step 4. Translate into an equation by writing the appropriate formula or model for the situation. Substitute in the given information.
Step 5. Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
Step 6. Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
Step 7. Answer the question with a complete sentence.