How to solve a math problem!

Step OneRead

the

problem

Step TwoFind out,

What am I supposed

to find out?

IF it’s toocomplicated to understand the

1st time…

Read the

problem again and AGAIN!

Look for

clue

words

Step Three

To show you…which operation

to use

Additionand…add…addend…plus…sum…more…more than…in all…total…all together…perimeter…combined

SubtractionMinuend…subtrahenddifference…subtractminus…take away…less than…remain…are left…have left how much morefewer…are not…decreased by…how much change (money)

is left

Multiplicationfactor…

product…times…of…

multiplied by…area…volume…each…

twice=2x…thrice=3x… …how many times more…

Divisiondividend…divisor…quotient…divided by…per…half = ÷ 2…separated…rate…ratio…fraction…decimal…part…percent…

Beware…Of red herrings!(false clues) In this

case, numbers that are just there to trick you, but are not needed to solve the problem.

What to do…if you’ve read

the question more than once, and you still don’t know which way to turn..

Then just do something!You know there are four operations and you’ll

have to do at least one of them. So pick one. You know you need to do that operation using at

least two numbers, so pick two of the numbers in the problem.

Then either add ‘em, subtract ‘em, multiply ‘em, or divide ‘em.

You may be wrong, but YOU MAY BE RIGHT!

Step FourSolve the problem

Step FiveNow think…Does this

answer make sense?

Would I expect this to be the answer?

Step SixAsk yourself…

Are there more parts to this question?

(Some questions have two or more parts!)

RememberIf you ONLY answer

half the question, EVEN if you get that half

100% right…That’s only 50% of the question...

And 50% is an F!

Step SevenCheck your work…

just work backwards, using the opposite operations and see if you end up where you began.

Congratulations!That’s how to solve a math problem. Some more clues for math sleuths…

Always try something.Never try nothing.Show your work and hand it in. Even if you don’t make it the whole way, you may have come close.