Solving Word Problems Using Other Strategies

In addition to being able to solve problems in prealgebra, algebra, and geometry, you can use some general
problem-solving strategies to solve other real-world problems. These strategies can help you with problems found
on standardized tests, in other subjects, and in everyday life.

These strategies are:

1. Make an organized list.

2. Guess and test.
3. Draw a picture.
4. Find a pattern.
5. Solve a simpler problem.
6. Work backwards.

Make an Organized List

When you use this strategy, you make an organized list of possible solutions and then systematically work out
each one until the correct answer is found. Sometimes it helps to make the list in a table format.

EXAMPLE: A person has ten coins consisting of quarters and dimes. If the total amount of the change is $1.90,
find the number of quarters and dimes he has.

SOLUTION:

GOAL: You are being asked to find the number of quarters and dimes the person has.

STRATEGY: As shown in Lesson 11, this problem can be solved using an equation; however, this problem can
also be solved by making an organized list, as shown:

Quarters ($0.25) Dimes ($0.10) Amount

1 9 $1.15

One quarter and 9 dimes makes ten coins with a value of 1($0.25)+ 9($0.10) = $1.15. Next try 2 quarters and 8
dimes and keep going until a sum of $1.90 is reached.

IMPLEMENTATION: Finish the list.

Quarters ($0.25) Dimes ($0.10) Amount

1 9 $1.15
2 8 $1.30
3 7 $1.45
4 6 $1.60
5 5 $1.75
6 4 $1.90

Hence, 6 quarters and 4 dimes are needed to get $1.90.

EVALUATION: Six quarters plus 4 dimes makes 10 coins whose value is $1.90. The answer is correct.
EXAMPLE: In a children’s parade there are 12 children, some riding bicycles and some riding tricycles. If there
is a total of 32 wheels, how many children are riding a bicycle and how many are riding a tricycle?

SOLUTION:

GOAL: You are being asked to find how many children are riding a bicycle and how many are riding a tricycle.

STRATEGY: You can make an organized list as shown:

Bicycles (2 wheels) Tricycles (3 wheels) Total wheels

1 11 35

The number of bicycles and tricycles must sum to 12 since there are 12 children.

IMPLEMENTATION: Continue the table until the correct answer (32 wheels) is found.

Bicycles (2 wheels) Tricycles (3 wheels) Total wheels

1 11 35
2 10 34
3 9 33
4 8 32

Hence there are 4 children riding bicycles and 8 children riding tricycles.

EVALUATION: Since 8 + 4 = 12 and 4 bicycles have a total of 8 wheels and 8 tricycles have a total of 24 wheels,
8 + 24 = 32.

Guess and Test

This strategy is similar to the previous one except you do not need to make a list. You simply take an educated
guess at the solution and then try it out to see if it is correct.

EXAMPLE: The sum of the digits of a two-digit number is 11. If the digits are reversed, the new number is nine
less than the original number.

SOLUTION:

GOAL: You are being asked to find a two-digit number.

STRATEGY: You can use the guess and test strategy. First guess some two-digit numbers such that the sum of
the digits is 11. For example, 83, 74, 65, etc., meet this part of the solution. Then see if they meet the other
condition of the problem.

IMPLEMENTATION:

Guess: 83; reverse the digits: 38; subtract: 83 – 38 = 45

Guess: 74; reverse the digits: 47; subtract: 74 – 47 = 27
Guess: 65; reverse the digits: 56; subtract: 65 – 56 = 9
The number is 65

EVALUATION: The sum of the digits is 6 + 5 = 11, and the difference is 65 – 56 = 9.

EXAMPLE: Each letter represents a digit from 0 through 9. Find the value of each letter so that the following is
true:
x
x
+x
-----
wx

SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find what digits x and w represent.

STRATEGY: Use guess and test.

IMPLEMENTATION: Guess a few digits for x and see what works:

x = 4: 4 x = 7: 7 x = 5: 5
4 7 5
+4 +7 +5
----- ---- -----
12 21 15

Hence x = 5 and w = 1 is the correct answer.

EVALUATION: Notice that all the digits in the column are the same, that is, they are all the same number. You
must add three single digit numbers and get the same number as the one’s digit of the solution. There are only
two possibilities: 0 and 5. Since the answer has two digits, 0 is disregarded.

Draw a Picture
Many times a problem can be solved using a picture, figure, or diagram. Also, drawing a picture can help you to
determine which other strategy can be used to solve a problem.

EXAMPLE: Eight clothespins are placed on a clothesline at two-foot intervals. How far is it from the first one to
the last one?

SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find the distance from the first clothespin to the last one.

STRATEGY: Draw a figure and count the intervals between them; then multiply by two.

IMPLEMENTATION: Solve the problem. See Figure below.

Since there are seven intervals, the distance between the first and last one is 7  2 = 14 feet.

EVALUATION: The figure shows that 14 feet is the correct answer.

EXAMPLE: Three coins are tossed; find the total number of ways they could fall.

SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find the total number of ways 3 coins can fall.

STRATEGY: Draw a diagram showing the way each coin can land, that is, heads up or heads down.

IMPLEMENTATION: Each coin can land in two ways: heads or tails. See Figure

Hence there are 8 different possibilities:

HHH THH
HHT THT
HTH TTH
HTT TTT

EVALUATION: Since there are two ways each coin can fall,
there are 2  2  2 = 8 ways.

Find a Pattern
Many problems can be solved by recognizing that there is a pattern to the solution. Once the pattern is recognized,
the solution can be obtained by generalizing from the pattern.

EXAMPLE: A wealthy person decided to pay an employee $1 for the first day’s work, $3 for the second day’s
work, and $5 for the third day’s work. How much did the employee earn for 30 days’ work?

SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find the amount the employee earned for a total of 30 days’ work.
STRATEGY: You can make a table starting with the first day and continuing until you see a pattern.

IMPLEMENTATION:
Day Amount earned Total
1 1 1
2 3 4
3 5 9
4 7 16
5 9 25

Notice the relationship between the day and the total amount earned: 12 = 1, 22 = 4, 32 = 9, 42 = 16, 52 = 25. Hence
for 30 days’ work, the employee would earn 302 or 900 dollars.

EVALUATION: You could check your answer by adding the first 30 odd numbers.
EXAMPLE: Find the sum of the digits for the answer to (111,111,111)2.

SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find the sum of the digits of the given number squared.

STRATEGY: Make a table starting with 12, 112, 1112, etc. Find the sum of the digits and see if there is a pattern.

IMPLEMENTATION:
Number Number squared Sum of digits
12 1 1
112 121 4
1112 12321 9
11112 1234321 16
111112 123454321 25

The pattern is similar to the one shown in the previous problem. If there are 9 digits in the number, the sum of the
digits should be 92 = 81.

EVALUATION: You could square the number and sum the digits.

Solve a Simpler Problem

To use this strategy, you should simplify the problem or make up a shorter, similar problem and figure out how
to solve it. Then use the same strategy to solve the given problem.

EXAMPLE: If there are 8 people at a meeting and each person shakes every other person’s hand once, how many
handshakes occurred?

SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find the total number of handshakes if everybody shakes everybody else’s hand.

STRATEGY: Simplify the problem using, say, 4 people, and then try to solve it with 8 people.

IMPLEMENTATION: Assume the 4 people are A, B, C, and D. Then write the handshakes:

AB, AC, AD, BC, BD, CD

Hence, with 4 people, there would be 6 handshakes.

Now call the 8 people A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H.

AB AC AD AE AF AG AH
BC BD BE BF BG BH
CD CE CF CG CH
DE DF DG DH
EF EG EH
FG FH
GH

There would be 28 handshakes.

EVALUATION: You can solve the problem using a different strategy and see if you get the same answer.
Work Backwards
Some problems can be solved by starting at the end and working backwards to the beginning.

EXAMPLE: Tina spent $1.00 for parking and one-half of the remainder of her money in a department store.
Then she spent $3.00 for lunch. Arriving back home, she found that she had $7.00 left. How much did she take
to the store?

SOLUTION:
GOAL: You are being asked to find how much money Tina had before going shopping.

STRATEGY: Work backwards.

IMPLEMENTATION: Work forward first and then work backwards.

1. Spent: $1.00 on parking. Subtract $1.00.
2. Spent 1/2 of the remainder in the department store. Divide by 2.
3. Spent $3.00 on lunch. Subtract $3.00.
4. Has $7.00 left.

Reversing the process:

4. $7.00
3. Add $3.00 $7.00 + $3.00 = $10.00
2. Multiply by 2 $10.00  2 = $20.00
1. Add $1.00 $20.00 + $1.00 = $21.00

Hence, she started out with $21.00.

Many times there is no single best strategy to solve a problem. You should remember that problems can be solved
using different methods or a combination of methods.

Algebraically we can solve this problem:

Let x = original amount

(x – 1) – ½(x – 1) – 3 = 7
2[(x – 1) – ½(x – 1) – 3] = 2[7]
2x – 2 – x + 1 – 6 = 14
x – 7 = 14
x = 21

Alternative Solution:
1 + ½(x – 1) + 3 + 7 = x
2[1 + ½(x – 1) + 3 + 7] =2[x]
2 + x – 1 + 6 + 14 = 2x
21 = 2x – x
x = 21
EXERCISES: Use one or more of the strategies shown in the lesson to solve each problem.

1. How many cuts are needed to cut a log into 5 pieces?

2. Each letter stands for a digit. All identical letters represent the same digit. Find the solution.

PQ
+Q
-----
QP

3. The sum of the digits of a two-digit number is 5. If 9 is subtracted from the number, the answer will be the
original number with the digits reversed.

4. A person purchased 10 stamps of two denominations, $0.25 and $0.15. How many of each kind did the person
purchase if the total is $2.10?

5. An 87-inch stick is broken into two pieces such that one piece is twice as long as the other. Find the length of
each piece.

6. How many ways can a committee of three people be selected from four people?

7. Mortimer wants to shape up for football. He decides to cut back by eating two fewer candy bars each day for
five days. During the five days, he ate a total of 30 candy bars. How many did he eat on the first day?

8. A father is three times as old as his son. In 12 years, he will be twice as old as his son. Find their present ages.

9. How many ways can 5 people line up in a row for a photograph?

10. Find the tallest person if Betty is shorter than Jan, Sue is taller than Betty, and Jan is shorter than Sue.