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Work Backward Ed

This strategy involves working backward from the end result of a multi-step problem to the starting point. Students must list the steps in reverse order, starting with the known end result and working back to uncover the unknown starting value or time. Two examples are provided where the necessary information is given at the end and students must reason backwards through each step to determine the original number or time needed.

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Niel Nisperos
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42 views1 page

Work Backward Ed

This strategy involves working backward from the end result of a multi-step problem to the starting point. Students must list the steps in reverse order, starting with the known end result and working back to uncover the unknown starting value or time. Two examples are provided where the necessary information is given at the end and students must reason backwards through each step to determine the original number or time needed.

Uploaded by

Niel Nisperos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WORK BACKWARD

This strategy can be used when students know the end result but
you need to find out something that happened earlier. Students
must list a series of events and computations starting with the end
of the problem and ending with the information presented at the
beginning of the problem.

Example 1:
If you add 3 to a number, then subtract 2, you get 4. What’s the number?

The problem gives a series of computations which result in 4.


? add subtract result
_______
3 2 4
By undoing each operation or using the opposite operation, students will work
backward to find the starting number.
subtract add result
3 3 2 4

Example 2:
Ben is trying to decide when to get up in the morning. He needs 40 minutes to
get ready for school. It takes him 10 minutes to walk to school. If school starts at
8:30 a.m., and he wants to be on time, what time should he get up?

The problem gives you the amount of time it will take to complete 2 tasks (40
minutes and 10 minutes). It also tells you the time the last task must end (8:30
a.m.)

Task 1: If Ben walked for 10 minutes, he would start walking at 8:20 a.m.
Task 2: If he needed 40 minutes to get ready, he had to get up 40 minutes
before 8:20 a.m., at 7:40 a.m.

www.mathinaction.org

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