Equation Word Problems
📋 What it is
Translate words into an equation: name the unknown, turn phrases into operations, then solve.
🗣️ Coach says
Word problems are just equations in disguise. Name the unknown (let x = …), turn the story's phrases into maths ("more than" = +, "per" = ×), build the equation, solve it, then check it makes sense.
🧠 Memory hook
Let x = the thing you want. Translate phrases → symbols. Solve. Then re-read to check it fits.
😂 Giggle
Why did the balance scale file a complaint?
Because someone kept adding to one side without adding to the other — totally unbalanced!
😲 Whoa!
The hardest part of any word problem, studies show, isn't the maths — it's the reading: setting up the equation correctly.
✅ Quick check: "A number tripled is 21." Write and solve the equation.
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
3x = 21, so x = 7.
"Tripled" means × 3, and "is" means =; then divide to solve.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Turn "I'm 4 years older than my sister and I'm 12" into an equation and solve for her age.