Solving Word Problems
Read the problem entirely. Get a feel for the whole problem. Look for words such as “problems, multiply.” Next translate the wording into smaller pieces.
Examples:
My mother collected silver and copper coins. One day she observed a black coating on silver coins and a green coating on copper coins. Which chemical phenomenon was responsible for these coatings?
Rhododendron plants grow bigger and faster than other plants. My mother often planted them around the house. My father, who mowed lawns for a living, could not distinguish these from ordinary weeds and would cut 70 percent of them.
Can you solve the anthropomorphic part of the equation?
My father burned a metal (A) found in the clutch of our 1989 Chevy truck. The clutch burnt with a fizzling flame & a white powder (B) was formed which is basic in nature. Identify A & B.
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Bruce Alford’s first collection, Terminal Switching was published in 2007 (Elk River Review Press). He received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama and was an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of South Alabama from 2007-2011. He has published fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry in journals such as the African American Review, Comstock Review, Imagination & Place Press, Louisiana Literature, and many others. He currently lives in Mobile, Alabama.
