how to solve a math problem
...tant to graph the situation in order to see details that can be ignored by just using the mind. For instance, if it a student is asked to find the right angle that forms that forms a ladder next to a wall, it will be indispensable to draw a triangle. Students must be very careful in this step because they can get confused. They need to watch what kind of figure they need to graph. For instance, a student can draw a right triangle when, probably, the problem is asking him or her for an isosceles triangle. Next, the student has to work with the data that the world problem provides. It is helpful for the student to imagine that he or she is a carpenter who has already the tools that are going to Castellon, p.2 be used to elaborate a chair. The chair is the same to say the final answer for the exercise. Math exercises always give clues to find answers; if they do not, they cannot be solved. These clues are the carpenter’s tools. For instance, the power of an equation indicates if it has to be solved by factoring or by using the quadratic formula. Talking about equations, every word problem in the world is solved by setting up equations. All the equations in a word problem have to contain at least one incognita, which is represented by a letter. The incognita can either be a constant or a variable, which means that the value that the variable represents can be changeable or unchangeable. Also, the equation or system of equations in a world problem represents the relation between, at least, two things. A student must keep in mind that the constants and variable represents numbers of things. Mathematics is not only moving numbers and memorizing formulas; it is real life. Therefore, to find x means to find the measu...