To help you better understand this type of problem, let’s break it down further and
look at the common patterns. The type of question you're asking about involves ratios
and relationships between quantities. These types of problems often compare two
or more quantities and involve translating words into mathematical expressions. Let's
explore more examples and their wording:
Key Concept: Ratios and Proportions
Many word problems, like the one you asked, involve relationships expressed as
ratios. For example, "3 times as many" means that one quantity is three times the size
of another.
Example 1:
Problem: Sarah has twice as many apples as oranges. If she has 8 oranges, how many
apples does she have?
Example 2:
Problem: A class has 4 times as many boys as girls. If there are 6 girls, how many
boys are there?
Example 3:
Problem: There are 5 times as many cats as dogs in a shelter. If there are 12 dogs,
how many cats are there?
Example 4:
Problem: A jar contains red, blue, and green marbles. The number of blue marbles is
3 times the number of red marbles, and the number of green marbles is 2 times the
number of red marbles. If there are 7 red marbles, how many blue and green marbles
are there?
Example 5:
Problem: A company has 4 times as many employees in the engineering department
as in the HR department. If the total number of employees in both departments is 50,
how many are in each department?
Recognizing Wording Patterns:
"3 times as many...": This means you multiply one quantity by 3.
"Twice the amount of...": This means you multiply by 2.
"4 times the number of...": This means you multiply by 4.
"The total number of...": This indicates you need to add the quantities together to find the
total.
Common Steps to Solve:
1. Assign a variable to the quantity you know less about (e.g., the smaller group).
2. Express the other quantity in terms of this variable (e.g., if it’s 3 times larger, multiply by 3).
3. Form an equation based on the information given in the problem.
4. Solve the equation to find the unknowns.
5. Substitute back to find any remaining unknowns.
Practicing more of these problems will help you become familiar with the patterns
and the language used in these types of questions!
