Weeding Through the Words to Find the Math:
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Weeding Through the Words to Find the Math: |
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Introduction
This webquest is designed to help navigate you through the ometimes troublesome task of solving math word problems. Many students struggle with solving word problems because they aren't sure how to decode the problems and find
math within the words. In completing this webquest, you will work in a group of three to develop strategies to help you in further math pursuits!
Task
You will work within a group of three to solve a given word problem. You should investigate the given websites in order to develop strategies for solving word problems in the math classroom. Remember, if you can break down the problem and filter out the unimportant information, you can solve any word problem. After you've solved your problem, you will display your knowledge in a PowerPoint presentation. Please limit your presentation to 1-2 slides. Feel free to use animation, sound effects, etc. to make your PowerPoint awesome. Be creative but remember that the math is the most important thing in your PowerPoint.
Process
Before you begin your investigation, please click on the appropriate link to find your word problem. Copy this problem onto the paper where your group will display your intial thoughts and work. After you have your problem copied down, please start your investigation by clicking on the links below. You will use these websites to investigate different strategies for solving word problems. You will work with your group to decide on the appropriate strategies for solving the word problem.
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
| Group D | Group E | Group F |
| Group G | Group H | Group I |
Websites for Investigation:
Solving word problems: http://www.studygs.net/mathproblems.htm
Tips for setting up equations: http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/teach-solve-word-problems.php
Basic word problem help: http://www.algebrahelp.com/lessons/wordproblems/basics/
Solving word problems: http://library.thinkquest.org/20991/alg/word.html
Keywords: http://www.purplemath.com/modules/translat.htm
How to start: http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.word.problems.html
Steps for solving word problems: http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/706.htm
Tips for setting up equations: http://www.jimloy.com/algebra/word4.htm
| 0 points (missing) | 1 point (below expectations) | 2 points (meets expectations) | 3 points (exceeds expectations) | |
| Use of fonts, graphics, etc. | These elements were missing from the presentation. | Use of fonts, graphics, etc. was apparent. However, these items highly detracted from the material presented. | Students used fonts, graphics, etc. that only sometimes detracted from the presentation. | All font, graphic, etc. choices added to the presentation. The choices did not detract from the presentation. |
| Math | The math was missing from the presentation. | More than 1 math tmistake was made within the presentation of how to work out the word problem. | 1 mathematical error was made within the presentation OR correct vocabulary was not used. | The presentation is free of math errors and uses accurate and correct vocabulary. |
| Organization | N/A | PowerPoint had no logical flow or was difficult to follow. | PowerPoint was, at times, difficult to follow, but there was an obvious organization to the process. | PowerPoint was highly organized and easy to follow. |
| Problem Solving Process | The problem solving process was not explained in the presentation. | Problem solving process did not make sense. | Problem solving process was somewhat easy to follow. | Problem solving process was clear and concise. It was extremely easy to follow. |
| Group Work | Student was absent from the problem solving process. | Student participated minimally in the problem solving process. | Student was engaged in the problem solving process. | Student was an integral part of the problem solving process. |
Conclusion
Through your investigation of the website and your collaborative efforts with your classmates, you should develop an idea of how to approach and solve the given word problem. Take this information and create a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating your new-found knowledge to your classmates. Please review the rubric to ensure that you are able to receive full credit for your work.
Word Problems:
Group A: A class of 25 students took a science test. 10 students had an average (arithmetic mean) score of 80. The other students had an average score of 60. What is the average score of the whole class?
Group B: Carol puts some green and red unit cubes in a box. The ratio of the number of green cubes to the number of red cubes is 2:1. She adds 12 more red cubes in the box and the ratio becomes 4:5.
Group C: Mark and Fred had some money in the ratio 6:1. (The amounts are not important.) Mark gave half of his money to Fred. Find the ratio of the amount of money Mark had left to the amount of money Fred had in the end.
Group D: A sample of 96 light bulbs consisted of 4 defective ones. Assume that today's batch of 6,000 light bulbs has the same proportion of defective bulbs as the sample. Determine the total number of defective bulbs made today.
Group E: Jack picked 12 apples 15 pears and Jill picked 16 apples and some pears. The ratio of apples to pears picked by Jack and Jill were the same. Determine how many pears Jill picked.
Group F: A snug-fitting belt is placed around the Earth's equator. Suppose you added an extra 1 meter of length to the belt. What length will the belt need to be? Assume that the Earth is a perfect sphere of radius 6400 km, and that the belt material does not stretch.
Group G: A coffee merchant has coffee beans that sell for $9 per pound and $12 per pound. The two types are to be mixed to create 100 lb of a mixture that will sell for $11.25 per pound. How much of each type of bean should be used in the mixture?
Group H: Sir Gawain plans to go from Wibbleton to Wobbleton and back, stopping for 4 hours for sightseeing. The distance between the 2 towns is 15 miles. He will travel on horseback. His horse can go only 5 miles per hours for the first 7 miles of the trip due to the rocky road. For the rest of the trip, his horse can go 8 miles per hour. How long will the trip take?
Group I: Karen is twice as old as Lori. Three years from now, the sum of their ages will be 42. How old is Karen?
Updated on 04-Nov-2010 by Erica C. Boswell.