Solving Word Problems Using Verbal Models

General Steps For Solving Word Problems:

1. Read the problem as many times as you need to understand it.

2. Organize the given information

3. Assign labels to the unknowns

4. Write down what you want to find

5. Write a Verbal model

6. Write a strategy or Algebraic model

7. Solve the Algebraic model

8. Write the answer and Check your work

See pages 33 through 36 for more information.

Example: See page 37

You are on a boat on the Seine River in France. The boat’s speed is 32 kilometers per hour. The Seine has a length of 764 kilometers, but only 547 kilometers are navigated by boats. How long will your boat ride take if you travel the entire navigable portion of the Seine?

Verbal Model:

Distance = Rate · Time

Assign Labels to Given Info:

Distance the boat must travel	547 km
The boat’s speed	32 km/hr
Time it will take the boat to travel	???

Algebraic Model:

D=R·T

547=32·T

Solve:

547=32·T

/32 /32

547 / 32 = 17.09

Answer the Question:

It will take about 17 hours.

Now It’s Your Turn:

1. You have 480 feet of fencing to enclose a rectangular garden. You want the length of the garden to be 30 feet greater than the width. Find the length and width of the garden if you use all the fencing.

2. A professor announces that course grades will be computed by taking 40% of a student’s project score (0-100 points) and adding 60% of a student’s final exam score (0-100 points). Of a student gets an 86 on the project, what scores can she get on the final exam to get a course grade of at least 90?

3. The bill for the repair of your car was $390. The cost for parts was $215. The cost for labor was $35 per hour. How many hours did the repair work take.