Final answer:
To turn a word problem into an equation, one needs to identify the knowns and unknowns and express the unknown in terms of the knowns. An example being a problem where the price per item and the total cost are given, the task is to find the number of items purchased, resulting in the equation 5x=45.
Step-by-step explanation:
Turning a word problem into a mathematical equation involves identifying the knowns and unknowns, and finding an equation that expresses the unknown in terms of the knowns. One example could be a problem where you're given the price per item and the total cost, and you need to find out the number of items purchased. Let's say each item costs $5 and the total cost is $45. The equation to represent this situation would be 5x = 45, where x represents the number of items bought.
To solve the problem, we perform the following steps:
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- Identify the knowns: price per item ($5), total cost ($45).
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- Identify the unknown: the number of items (x).
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- Find an equation: price per item multiplied by number of items equals total cost, or 5x = 45.
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- Solve the equation for the unknown: x = 45 / 5, so x = 9.
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- Check the answer to ensure it makes sense: Buying 9 items at $5 each would indeed cost $45.
By focusing on what the numbers represent and how they relate to each other, and by solving the equation using step-by-step logic, one can master the underlying concepts and become more comfortable with word problems.