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Ms. Branstrom’s
Math Monthly
Volume 1, Edition 1
March, 2006
She Wants Me to Solve Word Problems?!?! ...................................................................... 1
Memo .................................................................................................................................. 2
“These are a few of my favorite formulas!” ....................................................................... 2
Game of the Week: SUDOKU ............................................................................................ 2
This Month in Chapter 9: .................................................................................................... 3
She Wants Me to Solve Word Problems?!?!
For reasons that elude me, even in my advanced age, some of my best and
brightest are still baffled by the simplest word problems. It’s a matter of turning the
English language into math; verbal sentences into number sentences. Easier said than
done, I know. Check out this handy-dandy English-Math “Dictionary” when you work at
home.1
If the problem asks for:
total, sum, more than, together, increased
by, in all
difference, less than, fewer, decreased by
of, times, multiplied by, product of
per, ratio, out of, quotient of, percent
It means:
Add
Subtract
Multiply
Divide
Did you know that if you just type “how to solve word problems” into Google,
there are 54,800,000 results! That’s overwhelming. To aid you on your journey, I have
compiled a number of internet resources that I find very useful.
Now that you know what to do, try these sample problems to perfect your technique.
Click the “Answer” button when you’re done, and you will be linked to a document that
explains the answers.
 Two consecutive numbers total 117. What are the numbers?
 BONUS: The sum of three consecutive numbers is 45. What are the numbers?
ANSWERS
Ms. Branstrom’s favorite web sites for solving word problems:
 http://www.studygs.net/mathproblems.htm
 http://homepages.cambrianc.on.ca/tutorial/thetutorialcentre/mathscience/science/
How%20To%20Solve%20Word%20Problems.html
1
Beware: you might just have to you more than one of these operations before you get
your final answer!!
“These are a few
of my favorite
formulas!”
Memo
To: Students
From: California
School Board
RE: Math Standards
for 2005-2006
How many students can honestly
say they have educational goals for a
given school year? Be honest. . .
Well, that’s about to change!
You can find your content standards at
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/mthmain.

asp or on the bulletin board in our
classroom! It is really important that
you know what information you will be
held accountable for -- especially if you

plan to take standardized tests such as
the SAT, ACT, and Exit Exams.

These frequently used formulas are
definitely worth remembering. . .
especially before your chapter 7 test!
Distance (between two points)
Formula:
d  (x 2  x1)2  (y2  y1)2
Pythagorean Theorem:
c 2  a2  b2
Formulas for a Line:
Ax  By  C
y  mx  b
(y  y1 )  m(x  x1 )
Slope of a Line:
y y
m 2 1
x 2  x1
Game of the Week:

SUDOKU
Remember, each box,
row, and column must
contain all the numbers
1 through 9.
Try your hand at this moderate-level Sudoku puzzle.
For more great puzzles, go to www.dailysudoku.co.uk
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
This Month in Chapter 9:
Quadratic Functions and the
Conic Sections
Math is FUN!!