Use a Problem-Solving Strategy: example 3.1

Step 1. Read the problem. Read the problem two or more times if necessary. Look up any unfamiliar words in a dictionary or on the internet.

• In this problem, is it clear what is being discussed? Is every word familiar?

Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. Did you ever go into your bedroom to get something and then forget what you were looking for? It’s hard to find something if you are not sure what it is! Read the problem again and look for words that tell you what you are looking for!

• In this problem, the words “what was the original price of the purse” tell us what we need to find.

Step 3. Name what we are looking for. Choose a variable to represent that quantity. We can use any letter for the variable, but choose one that makes it easy to remember what it represents.

• Let $p=$ the original price of the purse.

Step 4. Translate into an equation. It may be helpful to restate the problem in one sentence with all the important information. Translate the English sentence into an algebraic equation.

Reread the problem carefully to see how the given information is related. Often, there is one sentence that gives this information, or it may help to write one sentence with all the important information. Look for clue words to help translate the sentence into algebra. Translate the sentence into an equation.

Step 5. Solve the equation using good algebraic techniques. Even if you know the solution right away, using good algebraic techniques here will better prepare you to solve problems that do not have obvious answers.

Step 6. Check the answer in the problem to make sure it makes sense. We solved the equation and found that $p=36,$ which means “the original price” was $36.

• Does $36 make sense in the problem? Yes, because 18 is one-half of 36, and the purse was on sale at half the original price.

Step 7. Answer the question with a complete sentence. The problem asked “What was the original price of the purse?”

• The answer to the question is: “The original price of the purse was $36.”
  

If this were a homework exercise, our work might look like this:

Pilar bought a purse on sale for $18, which is one-half the original price. What was the original price of the purse?