Keywords are very important when solving Year 7 math word problems. They help students understand what the problems are asking and how to solve them. Let’s take a look at how these keywords can make word problems easier to understand and solve.

Identifying Keywords

Keywords are special words or phrases that give hints about what to do in a problem. Here are some common keywords and what they mean:

• Addition

  • Keywords: sum, total, in all, combined, together
  • Example: "Emma has 5 apples, and Sarah gives her 3 more. How many apples does Emma have in all?"
    • The phrase "in all" tells you to add $5 + 3$.

• Subtraction

  • Keywords: difference, less, remain, how many more, take away
  • Example: "There were 10 candies, and John ate 4. How many candies are left?"
    • The word "left" means you need to subtract: $10 - 4$.

• Multiplication

  • Keywords: times, product, of, each
  • Example: "Each student has 4 pencils, and there are 5 students. How many pencils are there in total?"
    • The phrase "in total" shows that you should use multiplication: $4 \times 5$.

• Division

  • Keywords: quotient, per, out of, share
  • Example: "A cake is shared among 8 people equally. How much does each person get?"
    • The word "shared" means you will divide the cake by $8$.

Practical Strategies

Here are some helpful tips for using keywords:

1. Highlight or underline keywords in the problem. This makes it easier to see what to do.

2. Make a list of keywords that you can look at when you face new problems. With time, you will get used to the words used in math problems.

3. Break down the problems into smaller parts. This will help you figure out which math operation to use at each step.

Conclusion

Understanding keywords in math word problems is very important for Year 7 students. By recognizing these hints, they can easily see what math operations to use and solve problems step by step. For example, knowing that “total” means to add and “left” means to subtract can help avoid confusion and lead to the right answers. As students practice with different word problems and get more comfortable with these keywords, their problem-solving skills will get better!