Problem Solving Plan

Got a problem? Let’s solve it!

Step 1: Understand

You must understand the problem before you can try to solve it. Try these ideas:

• Read carefully!• Highlight important info.• What is the actual question?• Is there info you can get rid of?• Can you do the problem in one step?• Do you really know what is being asked?

Step 2: Plan

Before you can solve the problem, you need a plan.

• How do the facts given relate to each other?• Think about it!• Try drawing a picture to clarify.• Choose an operation to use. (Or more than

one for multi-step problems)• Estimate what the answer should be near

Step 3: Solve

• Follow the plan. (Use the operation(s) that you chose)

• Show your work.• What’s the solution?

Step 4: Check/Evaluate

• Read the problem again.• Does your answer make any sense?• Is it close to your estimate?• Can you explain why your answer makes

sense?• Write your answer in a complete sentence.

Example 1

Click here to see this example.

Example 2

• MONEY After shopping at the mall, you come home with $3. You spent $4 on candy, $8 on a movie, and $5 on arcade games. How much money did you start with?

1. I’m trying to find out how much money I started with. I have $3 now and spent $4, $8, and $5.

2. The money I started with should equal the total of what I spent and what I have left over. If I add all that I spent to the $3 I have left, I should get the amount I started with.

3. 3 + 4 + 8 + 5 = $204. That makes sense, if I had $20 and spent all of that money ($17) I should only have $3

left. My final answer is:

I started shopping at the mall with $20.

Example 3COOKING: The table shows how much dry rice is

needed to make cooked rice for dinner. Based on the information, how many cups of cooked rice and how many servings will 4 cups of dry rice provide?

Dry Rice (cups) Cooked Rice (cups) Servings

1 2 8

2 4 16

3 6 24

4

Answer: 8 cups; 32 servings

Resources for more help

• Math Textbook pages 24-27• Math website (You will need your passcode)• Math Playground