
Preeti earned a total of $53 in interest last year. Account X earns 8% interest annually and account Y earns 15% interest annually. Solved Example 3 Preeti has money in two separate bank accounts. Some word problems, however, contain equations that make the desired value difficult to solve for. The standard way to solve word problems is to translate the words into equations and solve for the desired value. If the campsite is d miles from the park ranger's base and the entire trip took t hours to complete, what was his speed on the snowmobile, in terms of t, d, and r? A. Upon arriving, he collects a snowmobile and uses it to return to base.

Solved Example 2 A park ranger travels from his base to a campsite via truck at r miles per hour. This technique can also be used with more complicated word problems. The correct answer is C because it equals 120, which is the same number we calculated in Step 2. All xs have been replaced with 40s and all Ys have been replaced with 3s. Notice that the answers to the problem on the right are in the same form as the answers to the problem on the left. The correct answer will be equal to the target number. Plug the same numbers into the answer choices.Remember the number you calculate in this step. A car traveling 40 miles per hour for 3 hours travels 120 miles. Use these numbers to calculate the answer to the problem.In the above example, you replaced X with 40 and replaced Y with 3. Identify unknowns and replace them with numbers.There are three basic steps to remember when replacing a variable with numbers: Problems that have variables in the answer choices can almost always be answered by replacing variables with numbers. Notice that the questions are actually identical, except for the fact that x has been replaced by 40, and y has been replaced by 3. In general, numbers are easier to work with than variables. Most likely, you found the question on the right easier. Here is a chart with ALL THE KEY TERMS and symbols you should know for word problems. Whenever you see these words, you can translate them into the proper mathematical action.
#Finding x word problems how to#
In order to translate your SAT word problems into actionable math equations you can solve, you’ll need to understand and know how to utilize some key math terms. Train yourself to use these four steps to stay on track and continually work toward a solution. The SAT has many ways of making various stages of a word problem more difficult, which is why it is so important to have a good process. These are the two equations you have to work with: r + p = 7 31 = 5p + 4r Use the equations to solve for the desired value. Total Cost of Box = $31 Cost of Premiums = (5 $/pound) x (p pounds) = 5p Cost of Regulars = (4 $/pound) x (r pounds) = 4r 31 = 5p + 4r.
#Finding x word problems plus#
The total cost of the box is equal to the cost of the premium chocolates plus the cost of the regular chocolates. The other relationship concerns the total cost of the box. If the box contains only regular and premium chocolate, then you can write the following equation: Barrett bought a 7-pound box of chocolate. One fairly straightforward relationship concerns the total number of pounds of chocolate. Identify relationships and translate them into equations.

In this question, there are two basic unknown values: the number of pounds of premium chocolate and the number of pounds of regular chocolate. Identify unknown values and label them with variables. The question asks for the number of pounds of premium chocolate that Barrett bought. If Barrett buys a 7-pound box of chocolates that costs him $31, how many pounds of premium chocolates are in the box? In essence, you need to turn a word problem into a system of equations and use those equations to solve for the desired value.Įxample: A candy company sells premium chocolate at $5 per pound and regular chocolates at $4 per pound.
