Solve Word Problems and Puzzles

Sometimes in maths, we are faced with word problems, which can confuse us as we are used to numbers! 

When we see these we need to look past the words and think about the maths that we know that can help us to solve the question.

Have a look at an example of a word problem below... look familiar?

Example

In a room full of people, 1/8 of them wear glasses.

1/6 of them wear contact lenses, and the rest have perfect eyesight.

What fraction of them have perfect eyesight?

Answer

1/8 + 1/6 =

3/24 + 4/24 = 7/24

24/24 - 7/24 = 17/24

So 17/24 have perfect eyesight.

Let's have a go at some different word problems in this activity - remember, always think carefully about what you are being asked to do!