MEPX
Chapter 6 of 11All chapters
  1. 1How puzzles trick you
  2. 2All, some and none
  3. 3If, then
  4. 4Common fallacies
  5. 5Number sequences
  6. 6Words into equations
  7. 7Rate and work problems
  8. 8Elimination grids
  9. 9Knights, knaves and self reference
  10. 10Reading exactly
  11. 11Building the habit

Chapter 6 of 11

Words into equations

Name the unknown and write the sentence down.

The bat and ball

A bat and a ball cost 1.10 together and the bat costs 1.00 more than the ball. Ten cents jumps out and is wrong, because it makes the total 1.20.

  • Call the ball x and the bat x + 1.00, so 2x + 1.00 = 1.10 and x is 0.05.
  • Two sentences usually mean two equations.

Checking the answer

Put the answer back into the original words, not into your equation. That catches the case where you solved the wrong problem correctly.