Sometimes the hardest part in mathematics question is not the actual solving of the formula or calculation. It's figuring out what is the QUESTION and what needs to be CALCULATED in the first place is. These worded problems require you to:

• Translate from English to Math.
• Then work out the calculation.

Here are some key words and their symbols.

Plus Sign – sum, plus, added together, combined, increased by

Subtraction Sign – minus, less, difference, decreased by

Division Sign – over, divided by, quotient, out of

Multiplication Sign – product, multiplied by, twice (x2), thrice (x3)

Equals Sign – equals, the same as, totals, equivalent to

If there is an unknown number, you can denote it/represent it with x, y, z or any other thing you feel comfortable with even "?"

Often you have to change the worded question into a formula and then solve.

Other ways to get around it is to:

• Substitute in the 'answer' option numbers to your formulas e.g. easy and small numbers and then solve.

Let's go through some examples now:

(Note this question has been slightly edited for ease of understanding, the answer is the same as per the video)

Your family wants to put in a 250 litre rainwater tank to save water and money. It cost $800 to set up. The water bill prior to that was consistently 500 litres of water per week at $0.50 per litre. If the family consumption remains the same as was previously, how long would it take for the savings gained to justify the cost of the tank?

During the Christmas peak season, a store sold 6 times as many kaftans as it sold gloves and 2 times as many hats as it sold gloves. What could be the total number of kaftans, gloves and hats that were sold?

Q45 - Annie has a discount card at the mall. For every $25 cost she buys, she only pays $23. How much she needs to pay if she buys a cost of $300? (originally Q 45)

A $276 B $298 C $288 D $245 E None of these

Q54 - The third of a number is decreased by itself and the result is -8. An equation to find the value of x would be:

A 3x – x = -8 B 3/x – x = -8 C x – 3x = -8 D [x/3] - x = -8 E [x / (3 – x)] = -8

Key Rules to remember:

• Translate from English to Formulas – what exactly is the question asking you to do.
• Highlight key figures.
• Remember that:
  • Plus Sign – sum, plus, added together, combined, increased by
  • Subtraction Sign – minus, less, difference, decreased by
  • Division Sign – over, divided by, quotient, out of
  • Multiplication Sign – product, multiplied by, twice (x2), thrice (x3)
  • Equals Sign – equals, the same as, totals, equivalent to

Now it's time to do your assignment.

1. Download the assignment question here.
2. Print it out or if you want to do it electronically, save it.
3. Complete the questions to it.
4. Then check the solutions on the video below or download the ANSWER KEY here.