CliffsQuickReview Math Word Problems
Chapter One
TRANSLATING EXPRESSIONS
Chapter Check-In
Addition and subtraction keywords
Multiplication and division keywords
Turnaround words
The first step in solving a word problem is always to read the problem.
You need to be able to translate words into mathematical symbols,
focusing on keywords that indicate the mathematical procedures required
to solve the problem-both the operation and the order of the expression.
In much the same way that you can translate Spanish into English, you can
translate English words into symbols, the language of mathematics. Many
(if not all) keywords that indicate mathematical operations are familiar
words.
Keywords of Basic Mathematical
Operations
To begin, you translate English phrases into algebraic expressions. An algebraic
expression is a collection of numbers, variables, operations, and
grouping symbols. You will translate an unknown number as the variable
x or n. The grouping symbols are usually a set of parentheses, but they can
also be sets of brackets or braces.
In translating expressions, you want to be well acquaint ... read full excerpt from CliffsQuickReview Math Word Problems ebook
