Equation word problems, step by step
The step that turns a word problem into algebra is naming the unknown and writing an equation for it.
The question
Write an equation using x for the unknown, then solve it.
Dr. Okafor has 48 spare parts, which is 6 times as many as Sato has. Besides those, Dr. Okafor has 9 core samples.
6x = 48
6x = 48
x = 8
8 spare parts
- Read it through once. The deliverable here is an EQUATION written with x, not just a number — so turn the story into one before solving it.
- Let x stand for the unknown the story is about. Writing what the story says as an equation: 6x = 48.
- Now solve it: x = 8. The equation was what the question asked you to write; the number then answers it, in spare parts.
How it works.
- 01
Read it through once. The deliverable here is an EQUATION written with x, not just a number — so turn the story into one before solving it.
- 02
Let x stand for the unknown the story is about. Writing what the story says as an equation: 6x = 48.
- 03
Now solve it: x = 8. The equation was what the question asked you to write; the number then answers it, in spare parts.