Explanation:
Word Problems are mathematical problems presented in complete languages, rather than in mathematical notations.
Example:
A certain number is divided by half, the result is added to itself to give 6, what is the number?
Solution:
- Let the number be x
- Divide x by half:
In word problem, extra caution is to be taken, as misinterpretation can be very chaotic. Dividing a number by 2, is totally different from dividing the number by half.
4 divided by 2 is 4÷2 = 2
4 divided by half is 4÷½ = 4×2/1 = 8
2 and 8 are different, reason to be cautious.
So dividing x by half, we have:
x ÷ 1/2 = x × 2/1 = 2x.
- Now, what we have is
2x + x = 6
Solving this equation, we can obtain the value of x.
2x + x = 6
3x = 6
Dividing both sides by 3
3x/3 = 6/3
x = 2.
Therefore, the solution to the word problem is x = 2.