Words and Equations

You can write an algebraic equation for word sentence by reading the sentence as though it were an equation.

Example: The price of a ticket plus $2.95 for snacks equals $12.30.

Read the sentence aloud, listening for where you will place the variable.

The only unknown part of the equation is the price of a ticket. Let p represent the price of a ticket.

ANALYZE What are you asked to find? What information is given? Is there information you will not use? If so, what?

CHOOSE What strategy will you use? You can use inverse operations and the work backward to solve the problem.

SOLVE How will you solve the problem?

Read the explanation below to learn more about word problems and equations.

Words and Equations