Math word problems help students apply the skills that they have learned while doing repeated math facts. The beauty lies in how many different ways a simple word problem can be worded.
Take 34 – 12, for example. All of the following word problems are based on this one simple subtraction problem:
- Mike has 34 baseball cards. He gives away 12 to his best friend, Arthur. How many does he have left?
- Liz scored 12 points less than Beth who scored 34 points. What did Liz score?
- Beth scored 34 points, which was 12 more than what Liz scored. What was Liz’s score?
You may be able to solve 34 – 12 in a fraction of a second.
However, what good is it if you can’t answer any of the above three questions?
Math word problems build strong critical thinking, reading comprehension, and analytical skills, which are all important skills for future academic and professional success.
But some students absolutely dread when word problems come up in math class.
With our simple tips, you can help eliminate any potential frustration, dread, fear, or anxiety when it comes time to solve a math word problem!
Understand what the word problem is about
Pay attention to the keywords. At the same time, you don’t blindly associate a keyword with an operation. For example, it’s easy to assume that you could relate “less than” to subtraction and “more than” to addition. However, in Question 3, you can see the keywords “more than” but the operation to be used is actually subtraction.
Another essential strategy is to be mindful of the keywords and how they are used to apply the right operation. To do that, you have to understand the relationship between the numbers in the problem.
Would this happen in real life?
One inherent problem with math word problems is that there are some underlying assumptions that sometimes may seem absurd. Take these problems for example:
