Probably the hardest thing about doing word problems is taking the words and translating them into a workable math equation. For this reason, many students fear and hate doing it. It can be confusing to know where to start and how to figure out the answer. However, there are ways to break down a word problem that makes it clearer and easier to solve. The following is a list of helpful tips and strategies for tackling these challenging word problems.

1. Remember that when you do a word problem, you are looking to turn the words into an equation, so read the entire word problem first. Don’t try to solve the problem when you’ve only read one sentence. It is important to fully read the problem to get the full picture and to effectively translate and solve the problem.

2. Go back to the beginning. Reread the first prize. Write what you know and what you don’t know. Use variables to represent the unknowns and clearly label what they represent. Do the same for the second sentence and each following sentence.

3. As you do this, look for keywords that mean certain math operations:

ADDITION
added to
set
increased by
more than
Further
addition
together
total

SUBTRACTION
diminished in
difference between
less than
how many more?
less
less than
less
subtract from)

MULTIPLICATION
multiplied by
of
product of
times
twice

DIVISION
TO
divided by
outside
by
cross
quotient of
ratio of
share equally

EQUAL
are
gives
is
sold for
was
were
be
yields

4. Perform the required operations.

Let’s apply these strategies to an example:
Lincoln High School has 456 students. One third of the students are involved in sports. This number is two-fifths of the number of students at the nearby high school. How many students attend high school?

Lincoln MS = 456 students
1/3(456) = students involved in sports = 152
x = number of high school students
152 = 2/5x
5/2 (152)=5/2 (2/5)x
380 = x

There are 380 students in the secondary school.

5. Make sure you are answering the question being asked. Sometimes several steps are needed to arrive at the final answer, and you may lose sight of what the word problem is asking or asking you to do. One step may appear to be the answer, like the second step above: 1/3 (456) = students involved in sports = 152. The number 152 may appear to be the answer, but it is actually just a number needed to solve the problem. Remember to also include any necessary units of measurement in your answer, such as inches, feet, cm, lb, oz, etc. Label the answer with the unit of measurement or with the object that the question asks for. For example, “380 high school students.”

6. Finally, mentally or on paper review your answer to make sure it is correct and makes sense. You do this by replacing the variable in each step with your answer and calculating the equation with the now known variable to see if it satisfies the equation. If it does, then you’re done!

Remember, to master word problems you need to practice, practice, and practice.