How To Solve Number Word Problems

Mentally
Most students in high school would rush and get a pencil or pen and write the equation
if they see word problems such as Problem 1. Im sure many of you will do the
same. But you should really stop wasting lead and ink because problems such as this
can be solved mentally.

Many are poor in mental math because most of us did not develop the habit of solving
the problem mentally first, before getting a pencil and paper. Most of us, and our high
school teachers too, are so obsessed and always in a hurry to write let x = something
when we see word problems. If you want to be a good problem solver, the pencil and
paper (and other tools) should be the last resort. Before getting a tool, try solving any
problem in your head first.

Before you get excited, take 3-5 minutes to solve Problem 1 in your head and see if you
can get the right answer before you continue reading.
Problem 1
One number is 3 more than the other. Their sum is 45. What are the numbers?
Now, lets solve number word problems mentally!

Solution
First, we have two numbers. One is 3 more than the other. So, if the first number is,
for example, 18, the other number is 18+3 which is 21. This means, that if we subtract
3 from the larger number, then they will be equal.

Analysis
1. Facts: two numbers, sum = 45, one is 3 greater than the other.
2. If we subtract 3 from the greater number, the two numbers will be equal.
3. If we subtract 3 from the greater number, their sum will also decrease by 3. Im
sure you can do 45 3 in your head. Now, we have sum = 42.
4. Now, that we have subtracted 3, the numbers are equal with a sum of 42. Well, we
just divide 42 by 2 since the two numbers are equal. 42/2 = 21.
So, the smaller number is 21, and the larger number is 21 + 3 = 24.
Check: Is one number 3 more than the other? Yes, 24 is 3 more than 21. Is the sum
45? Yes, 21 + 24 = 45.

Try solving mentally:

The sum of two numbers is 87. One is 5 more than the other. What are the numbers?

If you get this right, you should treat me for a cup of coffee. Starbucks?

Problem 2
The sum of two numbers is 53. One number is 7 less than the other. What are the
numbers?
This problem is quite the same with Problem 1. The only difference is that the other
number described is less than the other number (not more than). Still, we solve
mentally.

Analysis

1. Facts: two numbers, sum = 53, one number is 7 less than the other.
2. If we add 7 to the smaller number, the two numbers will be equal.
3. If we add 7 to the smaller number, the sum will also increase by 7. Im sure 53 +
7 can be calculated mentally. The new sum is now 60.
4. Now that we have added 7 to the smaller number, the two numbers are now equal.
So, we divide the sum 60 by 2 which is equal to 30.
Therefore, the larger number is 60/2 = 30. We subtract 7 from 30 to get the smaller.
Now, 30-7 = 23.

Check: Is 30 + 23 = 53? Oh yes. Is one number 7 less than the other? Yes, 23 is 7 less
than 30.

Try solving mentally: The sum of two numbers is 71. One number is 9 less than the
other. What are the two numbers?

If you get this, thats two coffee.

Problem 3
One number is twice the other number. Their sum is 45. What are the numbers?
To solve the problem above, consider the analogy. If a group of people can be
represented by a circle (Group 1), then a group which is twice its size can be
represented by two circles (Group 2). This means that the people can be divided
equally into three groups.

So, we divide 45 by 3 which is equal to 15. The number twice its size is 30.

Check: Is 30 twice 15? Yes. Is the sum 45? Yes.

Try solving mentally: One number if thrice the other number. Their sum is 44. What
are the numbers?

The three examples above show that many of the word problems that many of us usually
fear are not that difficult at all. I think a change of perspective and a lot of practice will
help us solve these problems faster and more accurately. Note that many problems are
really number problems in disguise. For example, the following problems can be solved
mentally because they are the same as Problem 1.
One log is cut into two. One is 3 meters longer than the other. Their total length is
45 meters. How long are the logs?
Susan is three years older then Mary. The sum of their ages is 45. What are their
ages?
Jack and Jill together have 45 dollars. Jack has 3 dollars more than Jill. How
much does each of them have?
See, if you can solve the problems such as the three examples above, you can really
solve a lot of problems. My advice is practice, practice, and more practice.

How to Solve Number Word Problems

Part 2
BY CIVIL SERVICE REVIEWER MARCH 17, 2014
This is the second part of the the Solving Number Problems Series. In this part, we will
discuss how to solve various number problems. Note that some of these problems are
not really number problems per se, but the strategy in solving them is technically the
same. You could say that they are really number problems in disguise.
We already had three problems in the first part of this series, so lets solve the fourth
problem.
Problem 4
If is subtracted from three times a number, then the result is . What is the number?
Scratch work
In the How to Solve Number Word Problems Part 1, I mentioned that sometimes, if it
is hard to convert the words in the problem to equations, it is helpful to think of a
particular number. For example, in this problem, the phrase is three subtracted from
three times a number. So, if we choose a number, say for example, , we want to
subtract from three times . In numerical expression, that is . So, if a number
is , the expression is . Now, this results to as stated above. Intuitively,
it is saying that is equal to . Thats our equation!
Solution
Let be the number.

is 8 less than 3 times the number.

Now, .

Check: The problem says that if is subtracted three times the number, the result is .
Now, three times is . Now, if we subtract from the result is and we are
correct.

Problem 5
Separate into two parts such that the one exceeds the other by . What are the
numbers?

Scratch Work
If we separate into two parts, and one part is, for example, , then the other part
is which is . This means that if one part of is , then the other part
is .

Now it says that the larger number exceeds the smaller number by . This means that

larger number smaller number = 24.

The only part left now is to choose which is larger, or . It wont really matter.
Solution
Let be the larger and be the smaller number.

Then,

Subtracting from both sides results to

Dividing both sides by , we get

So, the smaller number is and the larger number is .

Check: Is the sum of the two numbers is ? Does exceed by ? If both answers
are yes, then we are correct.

Problem 6
The sum of the ages of Abby, Bernice, and Cherry is . Bernice is twice as old as
Abby, while Cherry is 4 years older than Abby. What are the ages of the three ladies?
Scratch Work
As I have mentioned above, some problems are really number problems in disguise.
This problem is one of them.

From the problem, it is easy to see that the youngest in the group is Abby. Let us say,
Abby is . So, Bernice is twice as old or years old. Then, Cherry is four
years older than Abby or .

So, from this analysis, if Abby is years old, then, Bernice is . Since Cherry is four
years older than Abby, then here age is .

In the first sentence, it says that the sum of the ages of the three ladies is .
Therefore, we must add their ages ( , and ) and equate it to . That is our
equation.

Solution
Let be Abbys age, be Bernices age and be Cherrys age.

Dividing both sides by , we have .

So, Abby is , Bernice is and Cherry is years old.

Check: Is the sum of their ages ?

In the next post in this series, we are going to discuss how to solve problems
involving consecutive integers.
How to Solve Digit Problems Part III
BY CIVIL SERVICE REVIEWER MAY 30, 2015

This is the third part of the tutorial series on Solving Digit Problems. In Part 1 and
Part 2, we used one variable to solve digit problems. In this post, we learn how to
use two variables to solve digit problems. We still use the problem in Part 2.

Problem

The sum of the digits of a 2-digit number is 9. If the digits are reversed, the new
number is 45 more than the original number. Find the numbers.

Solution and Explanation

Let t = tens digit and u = units digit.

From the first sentence in the problem, we know that

t + u = 9 (1).

Also, as we have learned in the first two parts of this series, 2-digit numbers with
tens digit t and ones digit u can be represented (or has value) 10t + u. For
example, the number 25 with t = 2 and u = 5 has value 10(2) + 5.
So, the we can represent the original number as

10t + u.

If we reverse the digit, the specific example which is 25 becomes 52. This
becomes 10(5) + 2. Hence, we can represent the reverse number as

10u + t.

Therefore, we our representation is as follows:

original number: 10t + u

new number (with digits reversed): 10u + t.

In the second sentence in the problem, it says when the digits are reversed, the
new number is 45 more than the original number. That means that if we add 45
to the original number, they will be equal. That is,

original number + 45 = new number.

Substituting the representations above, we have

10t + u + 45 = 10u + t.
We can simplify the equation by putting the variables on the right.

45 = 10u + t (10t + u)
45 = 10u + t 10t u
45 = 9u 9t (2).

Thus, we have 2 systems of equations.

t + u = 9 (1)
9u 9t = 45 (2).

Note: We just change reverse the position of the expressions in equation (2).

We can solve this using elimination or substitution. In this solution, we use

substitution.

First, we find the value of t in (1)

t + u = 9.

Subtracting u from both sides, we have

t = 9 u.
Next, we substitute 9 u to the value of t in (2)

9u 9t = 45
9u 9(9-u) = 45
9u 81 + 9u = 45
18u 81 = 45
18u = 45 + 81
18u = 126.

Dividing both sides by 18,

u=7

So, the units digit is 7.

To find t, we substitute in one of the equations in (1) and (2). We substitute in (1),

t+u=9
t+7=9
t=2

So, our number has tens digit 2 and ones digit 7. Therefore, the number is 27.

If we check, if the number is reversed, it becomes 72. Lets see if the number with
reversed digit is 45 more than the original number.
72 27 = 45.

Therefore, we are correct.

Having two equations in two variables is an example of systems of equation. In

the process above, we solved for the value of one of the variables in (1) and
substituted it in (2). We will discuss systems of equations, particularly linear
equations in two variables in details in the next posts.

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How to Solve Number Word Problems Part

4
BY CIVIL SERVICE REVIEWER MARCH 19, 2014

This is the fourth part and the conclusion to the Number Word Problem Series.
In the introduction to this series, we have learnedHow to Solve Number Problems
Mentally. InPart 1 and Part 2, we have discussed the basic number word
problems, and in Part 3,we have learned how to solve word problems about
consecutive numbers.
In this post, we discuss about more complicated problems especially problems
that involve fractions. We have already discussed 9 problems in the previous
parts of this series, so, we now solve the 10th problem.

Problem 10
There are consecutive numbers. The sum of the second and the fourth
number is . What is the largest number?
Scratch Work
Since we have five consecutive numbers, if we let be the smallest, then the
other numbers are , , , and .

Now, the second number is and the fourth is . Their sum is . And
thats where we get our equation.

Solution
Let , , , and be the five consecutive numbers.

Second Number:

Fourth Number:

Second Number + Fourth Number =

Subtracting 4 from both sides,

So, the five consecutive numbers are , , , and

The largest among them is .

Check: Yes, they are consecutive numbers and .

Problem 11
A number added to of itself is equal to . What is the number?

Scratch Work
If that number is equal to , then of that number is or . Therefore, if
the number is , its one fourth is . Now, if we add and , the sum is 80.
That is where we get our equation.

Solution
Let be the number and a fourth of it as

To get rid of the fraction, we multiply everything by . This gives us

Check: of is . Now, . This means that we are correct.

Problem 12
One number exceeds the other by . One third the larger subtracted by one
one half the smaller is equal to . What are the numbers?

Scratch Work
One number exceeds the other by 22 means that the other number is 22 more
than the smaller. So, if we let be the smaller number, the larger number
is .
Now, we will subtract one-third by one fourth of . The difference will
be . In equation form we have

Solution
Let be the smaller number and be the larger.

The least common multiple of the denominators of the fraction (3 and 2) is ,

so we multiply everything with to eliminate the fractional parts.

By the distributive property, we have

Multiplying both sides by gives us which is the smaller number. The

larger number is .

Check: .

The Age Problem Solving Series

BY CIVIL SERVICE REVIEWER MARCH 27, 2014
One of the common types of word problems in mathematics and in many examinations
is about Age Problems. This series discusses various problem styles involving age
problems and explains in details how they are solved.

The Age Problem Solving Series

How to Solve Age Problems Part 1 discusses simple 2-person problems particularly
present-past and present-future age relationships.
How to Solve Age Problems Part 2 discusses a slightly more difficult 2-person
problems particularly present-past and present-future age relationships.
How to Solve Age Problems Part 3 discusses age problems that involves fractions.
I am planning to write a fourth part for this series in the near future, but for now, I will
focus more on yet uncovered topics.

The Solving Number Word Problems

Series
BY CIVIL SERVICE REVIEWER MARCH 19, 2014
Word Problems are difficult to many. The Solving Number Word Problems Series is
the first series of detailed tutorials on how to solve various number problems. Here are
the posts.
(1) How to Solve Number Problems Mentally
This introduction discusses various strategies used to solve easy number word
problems. Before you solve a problem using paper and pencil, you should try to solve
it first mentally.

(2) How to Solve Number Problems Part 1

This part solves the same numbers in (1) but using algebra. The objective of this part
is to introduce how to set up equations based on word phrases.

(3) How to Solve Number Problems Part 2

This part introduces more problems that are slightly more complicated than in (2). It
also introduces number problems in disguise.

(4) How to Solve Number Problems Part 3

This part of the series focus on how to solve consecutive numbers. Problem of
consecutive numbers are very common in math tests.

(5) How to Solve Number Problems Part 4

This post discusses more complicated problems and also introduces how to set up
solutions to number problems with fractions.

Whats more to come?

Introduction to Coin Problems

BY CIVIL SERVICE REVIEWER APRIL 1, 2014
Coin problems is one of the word problem types that may also appear in the next Civil
Service Examination. Coin problems may refer problems regarding actual coins or even
problems involving bills. Although the Civil Service Examination is solely for
Filipinos, nobody will prevent the creators of the exams using American terms such as
pennies, nickels, and dimes. In case you do not know, or you have forgotten, a penny is
equivalent to 1 cent, a nickel is equivalent to 5 cents, and a dime is equivalent to 10
cents.
Let us try to solve two problems as a teaser to this series.
Problem 1
Bingbong has 18 coins in his pocket. Three of them are nickels and five of them are
pennies. If the remaining coins are dimes, how much money does Bingbong in his
pocket?

Solution
There are 3 nickels and a nickel is 5 cents, so the three nickels are worth 15 cents.

There are 5 pennies and each penny is 1 cent, so 5 pennies are worth 5 cents.

There are 10 coins left, each of which is a dime or 10 cents. Therefore, there is 1.00
peso.

So, Bingbong has 0.15 + 0.05 + 1.00 = P1.20.

Therefore, Bingbong has one peso and 20 cents.

Problem 2
Jamie has 18 bills in her wallet worth 20 pesos and 50 pesos. If the bills totaled to 660
pesos, how many 20-peso and 50-peso are there?

Solution
There are 18 bills and for example, there are five 20-peso bills, then we will be left
with fifty-peso bills. This means that if there are 20-peso bills, then there
are 50-peso bills.

Now, if we multiply the amount and the number of coins, we have for the 20-peso
coin and for the 50-peso coin. If we add these total amounts, we have 660
pesos. Therefore, we can form the equation

By distributive property, we have

Simplifying, we have

Subtracting 550 from both sides, we have

Dividing both sides by , we have .

Therefore there are twenty-peso coins and fifty-peso bills.

Check
The total amount for the 20-peso bill is 8(20) = 160.
The total amount for the 50-peso bill is 10(50) = 500.

In the next post in this series, we will be discussing more coin problems.