Word Problems: The Step-by-Step Method
One routine for every word problem (Read, Represent, Relate, Equate, Solve, Prove), then the set-ups for number, age, coin, clock, calendar and mixture problems, plus three back-up strategies.
What it is
A word problem describes a situation in sentences and hides a number you must find. Solving it has two parts:
- Translate the sentences into math (usually one equation).
- Solve the math and answer exactly what was asked.
This lesson gives you one routine for every word problem: the 3 R's + ESP. It then shows the standard set-ups for the exam's problem types: number, consecutive integers, age, coins, clock, calendar and mixtures. Finally, it adds three strategies for problems that do not fit an equation easily: working backwards, making an organized list, and drawing a diagram.
Why it matters on the exam
Word problems are the largest group of Numerical Ability items. Most of them are not hard to compute; they are hard to set up. The most common trap is answering a different quantity from the one asked: the smaller number instead of the larger, the son's age instead of the father's, the first integer instead of the last. A fixed routine protects you from that trap.
At work, the same habit helps you check a budget, split costs, or plan a schedule without guessing.
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The rest of this lesson, and every other lesson, is part of ReviewTayo.
Read moreIn the full lesson
- How to recognize it on the test
- What to look for (5 checks)
- All 11 rules and tools
- 4 worked examples, every step explained
- 6 common mistakes and how to fix them
- 3 exam techniques
- Remember: 6 key points
- Practice questions with explanations, and your progress saved
More Numerical Ability lessons
ReviewTayo has 47 lessons that follow the official scope of the exam, each with rules, worked examples, common mistakes and practice. Open one and read the first part.