Question

How to write out a one-step equation for a word problem. Maggie spent half of the money in her savings account on a new computer.If the computer was $345, how much money was in her savings account?

Answer 1

Answer:

  (1/2)s = 345

  s = 690 (Maggie's savings balance)

Step-by-step explanation:

For any problem, word problem or otherwise, you start be reading and understanding the problem. You should specifically look for

• what you're being asked to find (what is the question to answer)
• the information you're given that is relevant to the question asked.

Here, you're asked to find a savings account balance. You're told that $345 is half that amount.

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After you decide what you're looking for and the given relevant information, you use the problem statement and your personal knowledge to write one or more equations relating what you know to what you want to find.

A first step for doing this is to define any necessary variables. In this problem, we can use "s" for the original savings balance (in dollars). (I like to choose letters that remind me what they stand for. "x" or "y" can sometimes get mixed up. For a one-variable problem, it doesn't really matter what you call it. It is helpful to be clear about the units of measure of any variables. Confusion there can also lead to errors.)

The problem statement tells us that half the savings account amount is $345, so our equation is ...

  (1/2)s = 345

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The "one step" required to solve this so to multiply both sides of the equation by 2.

  s = 690

Maggie had $690 in her savings account before she bought the computer.