Our final answer is A, $13,000x - 10,000,000$ Word Problem Type 2: Solving for Your Information If $x$ represents our number of boats, then our final equation will be: Now each boat costs Jones 7,000 dollars to make and he sells them for 20,000. This means we can eliminate answer choices C, D, and E, as they do not account for this 10 million. We know that Jones had to invest 10 million starting capital, so he is only making a profit if he has earned more than 10 million dollars. We consider a “profit” to be any money that is gained, so we must always subtract our costs from our earnings. For this type of question, you must use the given information to set up the equation, even though you don’t need to solve for the missing variable.Īlmost always, you’ll see this type of question in the first ten questions on the test, meaning that the ACT test-makers consider them fairly “easy.” This is due to the fact that you only have to provide the set-up and not the execution. You'll also usually see this type of word problem first. This is the less common type of word problem on the test, but you’ll generally see it at least once or twice. Word Problem Type 1: Setting Up an Equation Learning the language of ACT word problems will help you to unravel much of the mystery of these types of questions.ĪCT word problems can be grouped into two major categories: word problems where you must simply set up an equation and word problems in which you must solve for a specific piece of information. Again, we don't know how many months we're working with, but we know they will be the same, so we will have:Īnd, again, because we are finding the amount of months when the cost is the "same," we must set our rates equal.įrom here, we can solve for $x$, since it is a single variable equation. We do not know how many months we're working with, so we will have:ĭowntown Cable charges 60 dollars for installation and 35 dollars per month. Uptown Cable charges 120 dollars for installation plus 25 dollars a month. We are asked to find out how many months it will take for the cost for each company to be the "same," which means we must set the two rates equal. We have two different cable companies that each have different rates for installation and different monthly fees. Let's take a look at this in action with an example problem: For instance, the word “product” means “the value of two or more values that have been multiplied together,” so if you need to find “the product of a and b,” you’ll need to set up your equation with $a * b$.ĭifference, decreased by, subtracted from Whenever you see these words, you can translate them into the proper action. In order to translate your word problems into actionable math equations that you can solve, you’ll need to know and utilize some key math terms. Translating Word Problems Into Equations or Drawings For instance, if you must determine the number of sides of an unknown polygon based on given information, a diagram would certainly give the game away! Most of the time, these types of questions act to test your reading and visualization skills, as well act as a medium to deliver questions that would otherwise be untestable. Word problems will show up on the test for a variety of reasons. You must use your reading skills to translate the words of the question into a workable math problem and then solve for your information. This post will be your complete guide to ACT word problems: how to translate your word problems into equations and diagrams, the different types of word problems you’ll see on the test, and how best to go about solving your word problems for test day.Ī word problem is any problem that is based mostly or entirely on written description and does not provide you with an equation, diagram, or graph. Though there are many different types of ACT word problems, most of them are not nearly as difficult or cumbersome as they may appear. This means that knowing how best to deal with word problems will help you significantly when taking the test. Though the majority of ACT math problems use diagrams or simply ask you to solve given mathematical equations, you will also see approximately 15-18 word problems on any given ACT (between 25% and 30% of the total math section).
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