| Writing word problems for math seems like a whole new language, doesn't it? Well, it's not that bad once you get used to it! Here are some easy translations for you: |  |
| Writing word problems for math seems like a whole new language, doesn't it? Well, it's not that bad once you get used to it! Here are some easy translations for you: | |
| In a math word problem this phrase: | usually means you will need to: |
| "How many more?" | subtract the smaller number from the larger number |
| "How many altogether?" | add |
| "What is the difference?" | subtract the smaller number from the larger number |
| "How many are left?" | subtract the smaller number from the larger number |
| "each" in a problem with the phrase "How many altogether or total" | multiply |
| "each" as in "How many do they each have?" | divide |
| "least" | select the lowest value (number) |
| "most" | select the highest value (number) |
| Find the sum or the total | add |
| Find the product | multiply |
| Find the difference | subtract |
| Find the quotient | divide |
Activity:
Go to The Desert Trail or The
Hi Desert Star. Select a few articles from the sports pages and create
your own math word problems. Create 8 word problems of your own. (Two addition,
2 subtraction, two multiplication, 2 division) using the information you
find in the sports pages. Exchange papers with a partner and solve
each other's word problems. Here are two examples:
The Wildcats played football against The Trojans. The Trojans scored 21 points. The Wildcats scored 10 points. How many more points than the Wildcats did the Trojans score?If a touchdown and the extra point are worth 7 points each, How many touchdowns with extra points did the Trojans score?