How To Solve A Word Problem In Algebra

The hardest thing about doing word problems is using the part where you need to take the English words and translate them into mathematics.Usually, once you get the math equation, you're fine; the actual math involved is often fairly simple.

For instance, suppose you're told that "Shelby worked eight hours MTTh F and six hours WSat".

You would be expected to understand that this meant that she worked eight hours for each of the four days Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; and six hours for each of the two days Wednesday and Saturday.

Everything to the right of the equal sign (or inequality) is yet another expression. To keep these two terms separate, simply ask yourself if you can answer with a true/false.

Simply stated, an expression is a combination of numbers, variables (letters) and operations. If so, you have an equation, not an expression which would have a numerical value.

But figuring out the actual equation can seem nearly impossible. Be advised, however: To learn "how to do" word problems, you will need to practice, practice, practice.

The first step to effectively translating and solving word problems is to read the problem entirely.

When you’re solving algebra word problems, it’s smart to have a plan of attack ready to follow.

Solving word problems may seem difficult, but when you read through the problem and can figure out what the specific equation is, it’s no harder than a regular algebra problem.

Algebra word problems are very useful to solve real-life problems. Remember the famous words of Albert Einstein"Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I assure you that mine are greater."When you take a real-world situation and translate it into math, you are actually 'expressing' it; hence the mathematical term 'expression'.

Everything that is left of the equal sign is considered to be something you are expressing.