How to Solve Math Word Problems in an Easy Way

When we read or hear the word ‘mathematics,’ it creates complex equations and calculations in our minds, especially when solving word problems.

Mathematical terms are sometimes very confusing, and we fail to understand the demand of the question or what we have to calculate.

Do you consider mathematics a difficult subject?

I think your answer will be yes because mathematics includes a wide range of formulas, equations, figures, and other concepts. When we stuck at the calculations, we think about who creates this mathematics and why?

Deal with word problems is not easy, particularly for children who are learning the basics of maths.

They need to translate the english sentence and words into mathematics, and this translation they found frustrating.

In this blog, we will guide you on how to solve math word problems in an easy way. This step-by-step guide to solving math word problems will make you capable enough to solve these problems.

How to Solve Math Word Problems

Table of Contents

Here we are providing you step by step solution to word problems in mathematics.

Recognize the words

Take time to understand the proper meaning of the word. It would help if you remembered the words related to mathematics, such as increased by, ratio, subtraction, etc. When you recognize the words successfully, it will be easy for you to find out the right answer. Don’t be confused regarding the words; otherwise, your calculations can be worthless if you find the wrong answer.

Analyze the Question

You need to analyze your question carefully. Read each and every word of your statement and filter the data which you are given and what you need to calculate. It enables you to focus on the determining terms. You ignored to note down the provided data and asked data separately; there are chances of getting confused among the various values.

Make a Picture

When you are solving geometry word problems, the picture plays a crucial role in the calculation. Suppose you have the question to calculate the area of triangle, square, perimeter of the circle, etc. The picture will let you know what you need to figure.

In addition, when you are teaching maths basics to the children, they will understand the concept with the help of pictures easily. For example, you want to teach them the addition of numbers; you can draw pictures of any objects such as apples, kites, pencils, etc.

Think Before Solving the Questions

Take your time while doing calculations and think your steps are correct or not. Before solving the questions, think about which formula you can apply to the specific problem or which concept you need to adopt regarding the solution.

Do practice

Almost everybody knows practice makes a man perfect. You need to practice the multiple questions of the single-word problem. By doing so, you will get acquainted with the confusing words. So, keep practicing from time to time.

Let’s Focus on exploring some math word problems and learn how to solve them

Here we will describe some word problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We will discuss these problems in the form of questions and answers.

Addition

1. Combined or joined together

Question- A Children have 5 cookies and 2 ice cream. What will be the result if all cookies and icecreams combined or joined together?

Solution- Here, combined or joined together represent the addition calculation. So the result will be-5+2=7

2. Sum

Example- What will be the sum of 5 mangoes and 5 apples?

Solution- the sum will be 5+5=10

3. Plus

Question-What should be the answer for 5 plus 7?

Solution- the answer should be 5+7=12

4. Added to

Question- The age of Liza and Anderson is 5 and 10 years, respectively. When the age of Liza is added to the age of Anderson, it becomes the age of Peter. What is the age of Peter?

Solution- Here, we need to read every word of the statement attentively. Then solve the problem step by step.
Age of Lize= 5 years
Age of Anderson= 10 years. When the age of Lize is added to the age of Anderson, it gives the age of Peter
5+10=15=age of the Peter.
So the age of Peter is 15 years.

5. Increased by

Question- The breadth of a rectangle is 5 cm, and when we increase the breadth by 3cm, we get the length of the rectangle. What is the area of the rectangle?

6. Total of

Question-Ram bought 6 candies, and Rihana bought 4 candies. What is the total of candies?

Solution- To find the total of candies, we need to add the number of candies. Total candies= 6+4= 10 candies

Subtraction

1. Decreased by

Question- The rectangle length is 8 cm, and when the length is decreased by 3 cm, we get the breadth of the rectangle. What is the area of the rectangle?

Solution- Here length = 8cmBreadth= 8-3 =5 cm
We know the area of a rectangle is l 🗙 bSo the answer will be= 8Х5= 40 Cm^2

2. Minus

Question: We have two terms 75 and 25; when we minus these two terms, we get the 2 times of the second term. What will be the answer?

Solution- We have two terms75 and 25
minus these terms=75-25= 50
50 is twice the second term(25). Hence the answer is 50.

3. Less by

Question- What should be the answer when we less 75 by 25?

Solution- Students get confused when they read the statements like above. But in this question, we simply need to subtract 25 from 75. Because less word indicates the subtraction and we should know these terms to avoid any confusion.

4. Difference

Question-The age of a girl is 15 years while the age of her brother is 9 years. What is the difference of their age?

Answer-To finds out the difference in their age, we need to subtract the ages of both.Difference= 15-9 = 6
So the difference between their age is 6 years.

5. Left/ Left over/ Left After

Question- If there are 9 leaves on a tree and 5 of them fall down. How many leaves are left on the tree?

Solution- Left word denotes the remaining values. And we can calculate the remaining values by subtracting them.
9-5=4 leaves left.

6. Saving

Question- If the income of an employee is 100 rupees and the expenditure is 50. What is saving?

Answer- To determine the saving, we need to subtract the expenditure from the income.
Saving= Income-Expenditure
Saving= 100-50= 50
So 50 is the saving done by the employee.

Multiplication

1. Of

Question- What will be the answer for 1/2 of 4/3?

Solution- Of between the two numbers denote the multiplication of those numbers. Here the result will be
1/2 x 4/3 = 2/3

2. 2 times/ 3 times/ 4 times

Question- Maria has 5 packets of gems, and Anderson has 2 times more of Maria’s packets. How many packets Anderson have?

Solution- 2 times means we have to multiply Maria’s packets of Gems with 2, then we get the number of packets Anderson has.
No. of Gem’s packets Maria have= 5No. of Gem’s packets Anderson have= 2 х5=10

3. Multiplied By

Question-When the number of hours in a day and night multiplied by number of days in a week what will be the result?

Solution-Number of hours in a day and night= 24Number of days in a week= 7
24х7=168 will be the answer.

4. Product of

Question-Liza has 25 Chocolates, and her brother has only 5 chocolate. So what is the product of their chocolate?

Solution- Product implies the multiplication of two numbers. Hence the product of their chocolate is
25х5 = 125

5.Twice(two times)/thrice( three times)

Question- Haden bought 5 ice cream, and Albert bought twice of Haden’s ice cream. How much ice cream Albert bought?

Solution- Haden bought= 5 icecream
Albert bought= twice of Haden’s icecream
Albert bought= 2 x 5=10 ice cream

Division

1. Per

Question- There are 20 students in a class. And the teacher has 60 candies. How many candies will she distribute per student?

Solution- The per word indicates the division of candies according to the number of students. Here we have to calculate the number of candies for a single student.
So, to calculate this, we need to divide the number of candies by the number of students.
Number of candies for a single student= 60/20=3 candies per student

2. Out of

Question- What will be the answer for 25 out of 100?

Answer- We get marks in our school and college time. We speak our numbers in the form of out of. Here 25 can be considered the marks a student gets out of 100.We have to write them like- 25/100

3. Ratio

Question- Sam’s age is 50 years, and Adam’s age is 100 years. What is the ratio of their age?

Solution- We evaluate the ratio of the numbers by dividing them. Here we have to determine the ratio; we will calculate it as-
The ratio of their ages= 50/100=½
So the ratio is 1:2

4. Percent

Question- Calculate the value for 20%

Solution- The value of 20 percent is
20/100=1/5

5. Equal Parts

Question- There are five friends on the occasion of Disha’s birthday. They cut the cake in equal parts for 5 people. How many pieces do they cut?

Solution- They cut the cake into equal pieces for five people it means we need to cut the cake in 5 parts.

So these were some word problems, to solve such types of questions again and again to get perfection. We need to go step by step to solve the questions correctly.

Conclusion

I hope now you know how to solve math word problems efficiently. It would be best if you do your calculations with patience, don’t be confused. Analyze your problem and solve it step by step as we have given you above. Do a lot of practice to play with these terms and words and do the mathematics calculations.

We have provided you with word problems and solutions to those questions to avoid any confusion. We just need to focus on the requirements of the question. Filter your given and determine data for transparency. Then think about which formula you need to apply to a particular question. Get the best math algebra homework help from our experts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the factors affecting our math calculations?

Various factors affect our calculations, such as complexity of the question, less basic knowledge, your attitude towards the problem, environment, and approach you used to solve the question. Therefore, you have to start your question with a positive attitude and the right approach.

How to solve math word problems with children?

Children are receptive by nature, and they love to know practical things. So try to explain these mathematical concepts with real-life examples. For instance, suppose your child is eating an apple; you can put all the apples in front of them to better understand addition, subtraction, etc.

Let them count the total apples and explain the different cases. In addition, you can teach them with the help of their stationery items such as pencils, pens, erasers, scales, etc.

Why is it important to read mathematics?

Mathematics is an essential part of our education. It boosts mental ability and reasoning power. In addition, mathematics is crucial to read other subjects such as science, economics, social science, art, etc. Furthermore, the workforce in all fields in the future will demand it. Hence if you want to be a successful engineer, scientist, and professor, you need to enhance your mathematical skills.