Solving problems in mathematics

There are two main elements to being successful at mathematics.

• You need to know and understand mathematical terms and procedures and be able to do calculations accurately.
• You need to be able to solve unfamiliar problems. This involves analysing the problem, deciding what to do to solve it
and then using the mathematical skills you have to work out the solution.
The revised Cambridge IGCSE® syllabus will assess both of these things and there is a bigger emphasis on applying your
knowledge to solve problems for both Core and Extended courses. Your teacher will support you with this and tell you
which sections to look at as you work through each topic.
You cannot learn how to solve every problem, but you can learn some strategies that will make you more confident at
problem-solving in general.
Problem-solving is the process that you go through to find a solution to a problem when it is not immediately clear how
to do that.
There are four main steps in the problem-solving process:
Step 1 Understanding the problem
Step 2 Making a plan to solve it
Step 3 Carrying out the plan
Step 4 Looking back
You already know how to work through these steps and you have solved problems in mathematics for many years. In
Part 1 of this problem-solving chapter, you will look at some strategies that will allow you to move through Steps 1 and
2 effectively and successfully. In Part 2, you will look at some particular strategies that are useful for solving different
kinds of problems. If you are familiar with these strategies and the types of problems they are best suited to, you will
have more options when you have to make a plan to solve a problem.
At the end of the chapter, there is a problem-solving framework that you can use to help you when you are solving
unfamiliar problems.
Worked solutions to the problems in Part 2 are included at the end of this section.

Part 1 – The problem-solving process

Step 1 – Understanding the problem
The first step to solving a problem is to understand it and to be clear about what you need to find out.
It is useful to get into a habit of asking yourself these questions:

• Do I understand all the words used in the problem?

• What do I need to find or show?
• How can I restate this problem in my own words?
• Can I draw a diagram to help me understand the problem?
• Have I got enough information to find the solution?
The table below shows the things you can do to make sense of a problem.
You don’t have to follow these steps in order, it is possible to skip or combine steps depending on the type of problem
and how complex it is.

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Step 1: Understand the problem

Read and reread Try skim-reading the problem quickly to see if you can decide what is being asked (in other
the problem words ‘What is the problem?’). Then read it through again carefully for details and to identify
important information.
Knowing the correct mathematical words is important, so pay attention to vocabulary as you
work through the course.
It is also important to understand command words in maths problems. For example, words like:
‘find’, ‘determine’, ‘evaluate’ and ‘explain why …’ all have specific meanings in mathematics.
Rewrite in your Rewriting a problem in your own words can make it easier to understand.
own words Try underlining key words in the problem before you rewrite it.
For example:
27% of 200 people surveyed (think: ‘of’ means times)
Find x. (think: ‘find’ means calculate or work out the value of …)
Sometimes a problem can be rewritten mathematically using numbers or equations. You could
rewrite the problems in the examples above as:
27
× 200
100
x=[]
Visualise This involves picturing what the problem involves. You can do this mentally, by picturing the
situation or you can draw a simple diagram to help you ‘see’ the problem. Often the diagram
will give you a path to the solution.
Consider:
The Earth is a sphere with a circumference of roughly 40 075 km. What is the diameter of the
Earth?
You can either picture this in your head, or you can draw a simple diagram to show what you
need to work out.

In the same way, in a game, Suki has 232 points more than Maia’s 543 points. What is their
combined score?

S 543 232
M 543

Identify the The unknown in a problem is what you have to work out. Remember, there may be more than
unknown one unknown and you might have to do multiple calculations to find the overall solution.
In the Earth example above, the unknown is the diameter.
In the example with the girls’ scores, you need to work out Suki’s score (543 + 232) before you
can work out the total score.

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Mark the Use a highlighter or coloured pens to underline information, or mark items on a diagram.
information you
need
Remove Some information might not be needed and may have nothing to do with how you approach or
unnecessary solve the problem, particularly in word problems where there is context.
information
Consider the Earth example again: this is really just a simple circumference and diameter
calculation, the information about the Earth and the sphere is not relevant to the solution.
Identify missing Missing information is important in geometry problems where you might need to mark equal or
information parallel sides, or the sizes of unmarked angles before you can solve the problem.
In the Earth problem, you are not given the formula C = πd.
Check When you make decisions, it is useful to ask yourself: ‘why do I think this is correct?’ to test
assumptions your own assumptions about the problem.
Consider this example:
Find the area of the lawn in this garden.

17 m patio lawn

32 m

What are the assumptions here?

• Assume the garden is a rectangle and that it is flat (a hill in the middle of the lawn would
increase its area).
• Assume the patio is a semi-circle.

• Assume the lawn doesn’t extend under the patio.

The good news is that generally, you can make the assumption that a problem gives you all the
relevant data you need to solve it.

Read through these examples to see how the process of understanding the problem might work in practice.

Example 1
Two consecutive numbers have a sum of 141. What are the two numbers?

Read and reread the problem Consecutive means one after the other.
Sum means add.
Rewrite in your own words Which two numbers coming one after the other add up to 141?
Visualise x x+1

0 141

Identify the unknown The values of the numbers are not known, so we need to use letters.
Mark the information you need Consecutive
Sum
Total = 141

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Remove unnecessary information There isn’t any.

Identify missing information You need a variable for the first number, so let it be x.
Check assumptions They are whole numbers.

Solution:
Let the numbers be x and (x + 1)
x + x + 1 = 141
2x = 140
x = 70
So, the numbers are 70 and 71.

Example 2
Two identical blue squares are drawn next to a yellow triangle like this.
Find x.
G E

A
F D

62°
B C

Read and reread the problem I understand the language perfectly. And I know what to do.
Rewrite in your own words Work out the value of angle x in this diagram.
Visualise
x
angles round a point

Identify the unknown x is the unknown.

Mark the information you I am told they are squares, so it is likely to be important. I will mark the equal sides
need and right angles on the diagram.
G E

A
F D

62°
B C
(Now the solution should be clear!)
Remove unnecessary The colour of the squares does not matter.
information

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Identify missing The size of the other angles round the point.
information
I’ll need to work those out.
Check assumptions Identical means congruent.

Solution:
angle ACB = 62° (triangle ABC is isosceles; AB = AC)
angle BAC = 180 – 2(62)
∴angle BAC = 56°
angle GAB = angle EAC = 90° (angles in a square)
x = 360 – (90 + 90 + 56) (angles round a point)
∴x = 124°

Step 2 – Making a plan to solve the problem

In this step, you are trying to connect the information you’ve been given with what you need to find. Understanding
the problem will move you closer to this step and by the end of this step you should have a clear method for finding the
solution.
Before you start planning and thinking about different strategies, it is helpful to ask yourself these questions:

• Is this kind of problem familiar to me?

• Have I seen this kind of problem in a slightly different form?
• Is this just a different version of a problem I already know how to solve?
If the answer to any of the questions is ‘yes’, then you can go straight to working out a solution because you’ll already
have a strategy for that kind of problem.
If you think about the examples you used in Step 1, you can see how these questions can help you.

Example 3
This pendant is made from a square of silver and two gold semicircles. What is the area of the gold part of the pendant?

14 mm

This problem should be familiar as it uses the length of the sides of the square as the starting point for solving it. In this
case, the side length of the square is also the diameter of each semicircle, so you can work out the radius (7 mm) and find
the area of the two semcircles by finding the area of the whole circle (A = πr2).

Example 4
The sum of two consecutive even numbers is 48. What are the numbers?
This is similar to the consecutive number problem but you cannot use x and x + 1, because the two numbers have to be
even and adding 1 to an even number (x) will give you an odd number. Instead, you can use x and x + 2.

Example 5
Sami has $1250, his brother has half as much money. How much money do the two boys have altogether?
 1250 
This can be rewritten in numbers 1250 +  or shown visually using a bar model.
 2 

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 Solving problems in mathematics

1250
?
1 of 1250
2
Rewriting the problem mathematically shows how to solve it.
If you don’t recognise the type of problem and see a method of solving it immediately, you need to consider what is being
asked and choose a suitable strategy to try and find the solution.
Some of the most common problem-solving strategies are described below. Some strategies are more suitable for
particular types of problems than others. As you practise and gain experience by solving the problems in your
Coursebook, you will find it easier to select a suitable strategy.

Step 3 – Carrying out the plan

This step in the process usually involves using maths you already know, for example, finding the highest common factor,
making and solving an equation or drawing a Venn diagram. These skills are taught in the Coursebook and the revision
worksheets will help you practise and improve them. They are not the focus of this problem-solving chapter.

Step 4 – Looking back

This involves checking your solution to make sure the answer is accurate or reasonable and sensible in the context of the
problem. Estimating before you start can help you decide this. For example, the height of a ball thrown into the air can’t
be negative and you can’t have 2.5 buses to transport a number of people. This step also includes making sure you have
actually answered the question you were asked.

Part 2 – Problem-solving strategies

This part describes some common strategies for solving problems and provides examples to show how each works in
practice. Some sample problems are given for each strategy so you can try them out for yourself. Remember, though, that
you can solve problems in different ways, and you might use a different strategy to someone else. As long as you show
your working, it doesn’t matter which strategy you use.

Guess, check and improve

In this strategy, you make a reasonable guess of the answer and you check whether it meets the conditions of the
problem. If not, you make an improved guess based on your previous one.
This strategy is useful when you can’t see a mathematical calculation or you can’t write an equation that will help you to
solve it.

Example 1
The numbers 4, 5, 6 and 7 were erased from this calculation.
[ ] × [ ] + [ ] – [ ] = 27
Work out the correct combination and write the number sentence.
Solution:
Try the numbers in order.
4 × 5 + 6 − 7 = 19 The total is too low.
4 × 6 + 5 − 7 = 22 Still too low.
4 × 7 + 6 − 5 = 29 Close, I need to subtract a bit more.
4 × 7 + 5 − 6 = 27 ü

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Now you try

1 How many goats are there if there are 9 more legs than tails?
2 For a set of six integers with the greatest being 16, the following information is given:
Mode = 4
Mean = 7.5
Median = 6.5
Range = 12
What are the numbers?
Hint: you know there are six numbers, so make six boxes and fill in the information you know first 16 .

Organise data and work systematically

This strategy involves organising data into a more ordered or visual form so that you can find patterns and draw
conclusions. Lists, tables, charts, Venn diagrams, probability spaces and tree diagrams are all useful for organising
different kinds of data.

Example 1
How many ways are there to make $2.00 using any combination of 50¢, 25¢ and 10¢ coins?
Solution:
Make a list:
50 × 4 Start with the biggest or smallest value.
50 × 3 + 25 × 2 You can’t use an odd number of 25¢ coins.
50 × 2 + 25 × 4 Can you see why?
50 × 2 + 25 × 2 + 10 × 5
50 × 2 + 10 × 10
50 × 1 + 25 × 6
50 × 1 + 25 × 4 + 10 × 5
50 × 1 + 25 × 2 + 10 × 10 There are 8 ways if you include at least one 50¢
25 × 8
25 × 6 + 10 × 5
25 × 4 + 10 × 10
25 × 2 + 10 × 15
20 × 10
There are 13 ways in all. Remember to write the answer to the question.
The key to success with this strategy is to work methodically. In this example, a table with tallies (or frequencies) can
save you time and it allows you to see that you’ve included all the options with no repeats.

50¢ 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1
25¢ 2 4 2 6 4 2 8 6 4 2
10¢ 5 10 5 10 5 10 15 20

Example 2
In a group of 30 students, 12 play soccer and 17 play cricket, 3 students play neither of these sports.
a How many play both soccer and cricket?
b How many play cricket but not soccer?

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Solution:
Where there is an overlap of groups, consider using a Venn diagram to work out the solution.

S C

10 2 15
n ( ) = 30
n (soccer) = 12
n (cricket) = 17
3 n (both) = ?
n (none) = 3
30 – 3 = 27 play sport
12 + 17 = 29
(12 + 17) – x = 27 Work out the number
29 – x = 27 in the overlapping
∴x = 2 section.
* Remember to subtract 2 before writing the numbers in the S and C sections.

After you have drawn the diagram, you can find the answers.
a 2 students play both sports.
b 15 students play cricket but not soccer.

Now you try

1 When you roll two dice, you get two scores (for example, 1 and 4).
a What are the possible sums of the two scores when you roll two normal dice?
b What sum is most likely?
2 Zara asked her mother for $50. Her mother has $5, $10 and $50 notes in her wallet. What possible combinations can
she give Zara?
3 In our class of 30 students, there are seven students who are left-handed. Two of the left-handed students are
ambidextrous because they can also write well with their right hand.
a How many students are right-handed only?
b If you chose a student at random, what is the probability that he or she will be able to write with their left and
right hands?

Remove possibilities
Removing possibilities involves working out what the answer cannot be so that you can work out what it can be.
This strategy is useful when there is a finite number of options and when the problem involves some kind of logical
reasoning.

Example 1
In a game of rugby league:

• a try = 4 points
• a converted try = 6 points
• a successful penalty kick = 2 points
• a drop goal = 1 point.
A team scores more than zero, but fewer than 25 points.
a If the team scores only tries or converted tries which scores are not possible?
b If the team scores only tries or converted tries and 1 drop goal, which scores are possible?

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Solution:
a List the numbers 1 to 24 because the team scores fewer than 25 points.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
• By scoring only tries, the team could get multiples of 4, so eliminate these values.
• By scoring only converted tries, the team could get multiples of 6, so eliminate these values.
Now work out how many points the team could score through a combination of tries and converted tries and remove
those values. These are the values you can find by combining 4s and 6s.

• Common multiples of 4 and 6 are already removed.

• Remove 10 as it is 4 + 6.
• Remove 14 as it is 4 + 4 + 6
• Remove 22 as it is 6 + 6 + 6 + 4. (It could also be 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 6, but you only need to find one option to
remove it.)
You cannot remove any odd ones as they cannot be a sum of any combination of 4 and 6.
Solution:
It is not possible to score fewer than 4 points or an odd number.
b To answer part (b), you need to look at the scores that are already possible (in other words, the ones you have
removed). A drop goal would add 1 point to any possible score.
So if the team also scores a drop goal, the number of points possible are:
5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 23

Example 2
Four students selected six books from the shelf and weighed them to find their total mass to the nearest tenth of a kg.
Their results were:
Sven 11.1 kg
Mario 6.3 kg
Amina 8.6 kg
Carla 7.7 kg
One student’s books each had an individual mass (to the nearest tenth of a kilogram) greater than 1.3 kg but less than
1.8 kg, which student could this be?
Solution:
As each individual book is greater than 1.3 kg then the mass of six books is greater than 1.3 × 6 = 7.8 (if they were all
1.3 kg), so you can eliminate 6.3 kg (Mario) and 7.7 kg (Carla).
Each book is less than 1.8 kg so the total mass of the six books is less than 1.8 × 6 = 10.8, so you can eliminate 11.1 kg
(Sven).
The only option left is Amina.
Note: you don’t need to work out what combination of books Amina had, just that it’s possible that these are hers.

Now you try

1 The costs for buying movies on a streaming service are $8.90, $7.80, $5.40 and $4.80. Zef bought seven movies.
Which one of the following amounts (on his credit card) was for the movies he bought?
$48.40 $34.00 $61.40 $45.25

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 Solving problems in mathematics

2 In a basketball game, five players scored all their team’s points. The final result was 94–95 and the players had this to
say about the scores.
Kai: Everyone scored an odd number of points.
Sean: David’s score of 17 was the second lowest. I got 12 points more than Kai.
Micah: Kai and I scored 30 of the points but he scored less than me.
Haroon: The last digit in everyone’s score was different.
David: The highest single score was 25.
Work out the team’s total and how many points each person scored. Show your working clearly.

Draw a diagram or model the situation

A diagram is any visual representation of a problem, it could be a rough sketch, a graph, a number line, a bar model, a
tree diagram or a Venn diagram.
Drawing a diagram is a useful strategy for problems involving probability, sets, area and perimeter, fractional sharing,
vectors, transformations, angles, distances and other measurements.

Example 1
A diver was half-way between the surface and the bottom of the sea. She swam up 6 m to look at a shark and then dived
down 10 m to investigate a shoal of fish. Finally, she went up 18 m to reach the surface. How deep is the sea where she was
diving?

Surface
+18
14
14 +6
Middle
4 –10
4 below middle
14

Bottom

Solution:
The sea where she was diving is 28 m deep.

Example 2
3
A rectangular field has a perimeter of 45 m. Its length is 2 times as long as its width.
4
a What are the dimensions of the field?
b Markers for fence posts are to be placed round the perimeter of the field at 1.5 m intervals. How many markers are
needed?
a Draw the rectangle.
Let the width be x.
That means the length is 2.75x
Solution:
2.75x

x x P = 45

2.75x

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Now you can write an equation and work out the dimensions.
x + 2.75x + x + 2.75x = 45
7.5 x = 45
x = 6 So the width is 6 m.
The length is 2.75 × 6 = 16.5 m.
The rectangle is 6 m wide and 16.5 m long.
b Use the dimensions you’ve worked out for part (a).
You can add the information to the sketch you’ve already done, or you can make another sketch.
2.75x
1.5
1.5 10 markers
5 markers 5 markers
x
1.5 10 markers
1.5 dont count the
corner twice!

Here, the sides are treated like a number line and jumps of 1.5 m are shown on it.
The diagram shows you that there are 30 markers needed.

Now you try

1 1
1 Simon bought a box of dates. At breakfast time, he ate of the box. At mid-morning, he ate of the remaining
1 6 1 5
dates. At lunch time, he ate a of the dates left in the box. In the afternoon, he gave of the remaining dates to his
4 3
sister and ate half of the dates that were still in the box, leaving only three dates. How many dates were in the box
originally?
2 A square picture is surrounded by a frame 10 cm wide. What is the area of the picture if the outside perimeter of the
frame is 440 cm?
3 Josh packs some gym clothes for a trip. He packs two black T-shirts and one red T-shirt, one green pair of shorts and
one blue pair of shorts. How many different colour outfit combinations does he have?

Write and solve equations

Algebra is a really powerful tool for solving problems at this level of mathematics. You’ve already seen how making the
sides of a rectangle x and 2.75x allowed you to write an equation and solve it to find the lengths of the sides.
When you use equations to solve problems, you need to give a variable and say what it represents. Then you write an
equation using the relationships given in the problem.
When you use this strategy, you should remember that solving the equation might not answer the question in the problem
directly. You’ll still need to write an answer, and sometimes you might need to calculate something else to do that.

Example 1
Siraj is 8 years older than Mark. The sum of their ages is 20. How old is each person?
Solution:
Let Mark’s age be x. It’s often simpler if you start with the smaller value.
That makes Siraj x + 8.
Together, their ages make 20, so:
x + x + 8 = 20
2x = 12
x=6 This is Mark’s age. You still have to work out Siraj’s age.
Siraj is x + 8 and 6 + 8 = 14
Mark is 6 years old, Siraj is 14 years old.

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Example 2
What are the sizes of the two angles in this diagram?

(3x – 20) 2x

Solution:
In this example, you have to know that the angles on a straight line equal 180° before you can write an equation.
2x + 3x − 20 = 180 (angles on a line)
5x − 20 = 180
5x = 200
x = 40
2x = 80
3x − 20 = 3(40) − 20 = 100
(If you’ve worked out 2x, you don’t need to do this, you can subtract 80 from 180 to get the size. Doing the calculation,
however, is a good way to double-check your solution is correct.)
The angles are 80° and 100°.

Now you try

1 The product of a number and 6 is 78. What is the number?
2 The sum of a number and 12 is the same as the product of the number and 4. What is the number?
3 A rectangle with sides 2x m and 5x m has a perimeter of 98 m. What is its area?
4 A rectangle has an area of 48 cm2 and a perimeter of 28 cm. What are its dimensions?

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 Solving problems in mathematics

Problem-solving framework
Use this sheet to help you break down problems so that you can solve them. If you work through these steps each time
you are faced with an unfamiliar problem, you will develop good habits and become more skilled and confident at
solving problems.

Steps for approaching a problem What would you do for this problem?
Work out what you have to do.
Start by reading the problem carefully.
What information do you need to solve it?
Have you got all the information you need?

Is there any information that you don’t need?

What maths can you do?

Work out the solution.

Set out your working clearly and check that your answer
is reasonable.

Check that you have answered the question.

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Solving problems in
mathematics – worked solutions
There are other methods and strategies for solving these problems, but these solutions use the methods described
in this chapter.

Guess, check and improve

1 There must be at least three goats to have 9 more legs than tails (since two goats only gives 8 legs).
So try 3:
3 goats = 12 legs and 3 tails
12 is 9 more than 3, so there are three goats.

You can also solve this algebraically.

Let number of tails = x
Number of legs = 4x
4x = 9 + x
x = 3 (three tails = three goats)
2 Draw six boxes. Fill in 16 and work out the lowest is 4 because range is 12.
4 16
Then, think about what you know.
The mean is 7.5 and 6 × 7.5 = 45, so the total of the numbers is 45.
45 – 20 = 25, so the other four numbers must add up to 25.
The median is 6.5, so the middle two numbers add up to 13.
This means the numbers in positions two and five add up to 12.
The mode is 4, so at least one of the missing numbers must be 4.

Try some options.

4 4 5 8 8 16 This doesn’t work as it has two modes.
4 4 4 9 8 16 This works.
This is not the only solution. See if you can find a different one.

Organise data and work methodically

1 If you can see this is a probability question, you can draw up a probability space to work out the answer.
Score on dice 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
a The possible scores are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12.
b The most likely sum is 7 as it appears most often (six times).

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 Solving problems in mathematics – worked solutions

2 Use a table to organise the data.

$50 $10 $5
ü
üüüüü
üüüü üü
üüü üüüü
üü üüüüüü
ü üüüüüüüü
üüüüüüüüüü
The table shows that there are seven possible combinations and points to what these are.
3 This is a question with some overlap in the data, so consider a Venn diagram.
n(ℰ) = 30
n(Left handed) = 7
n(both) = 2
n(Right handed) = 30 − (7 − 2) = 25

L R

5 2 23

a 23
2 1
b =
30 15

Eliminate possibilities
1 $45.25 can be removed as all the prices are multiples of ten and cannot give 25 cents as an option.

Maximum cost = $8.90 × 7 = $62.30

$61.40 is close to this, so try 6 at $8.90 and 1 at $7.80 which gives $61.20.
All other combinations would total less than that, so $61.40 can be removed.

Minimum cost = $4.80 × 7 = $33.60

$34.00 is close to that, so try 6 at $4.80 and 1 at $5.40 which gives $34.20. All other combinations would total more
than that, so $34.00 can be removed.

The only remaining cost is $48.40 and as you are asked which one was for the movies he bought, you can assume one
of the answers is correct. You have removed the others, so it must be $48.40.
2 The scores are all odd, so the team could not get 94 points, they must have scored 95.
We know two scores:
The highest score = 25
David’s score = 17
25 + 17 = 42, so the other three scores must total 53.

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 Solving problems in mathematics – worked solutions

We also know that:

Sean’s score is 12 more than Kai’s (K + 12)
Kai’s score + Micah’s score is 30 (K + M = 30)

The other scores must end with 1, 3 or 9 to be odd and we know they all end with different digits.

Kai and Micah scored 30 points together, so the other score must be 23.

The combination for Kai and Micah cannot be 25 and 5 (since both end in 5).

It could be 9 and 21 or 11 and 19

Kai scores less than Micah, so Kai scored either 9 or 11.

Consider scores for Kai and remove possibilities.

If Kai scored 9, Sean scored 9 + 12 = 21. This is not possible since it would mean Sean and Micah both scored 21, but
we know the last digit of each score is different.

If Kai scored 11, Sean scored 11 + 12 = 23. This is possible.

Kai has 11
Micah has 19
Sean has 23 (K + 12)
David scored 17
That leaves Haroon with the highest score of 25.

Draw a diagram or model the situation

1 Draw the box and divide it into sixths to start with.
ate ate

1 1
6 5

ate gave away

1 1
4 3

ate

3
1 dates 3 = 16 of original box
2 left
6 × 3 = 18 dates

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 Solving problems in mathematics – worked solutions

2 Draw the picture in the frame and label it with the information you have.
110

10 x 10

x + 20 = 110
x = 90
x x

x
10 10

You can see the picture is 90 cm × 90 cm, so its area is 8100 cm2.
3 A tree diagram is useful for this kind of problem.
Shorts black GB
1
green black GB
red GR 2

black BB
3
blue black BB
red BR 4

He has only four possible colour combinations as some are repeated.

Write and solve equations

1 Let the number be x.
6x = 78, so x = 13
2 Let the number be x.
x + 12 = 4x, so x = 4
3 To work out the area you need the lengths of the sides. Use the perimeter to work this out.
2(2x + 5x) = 98
4x + 10x = 98
14x = 98
x=7
So the sides are 14 cm and 35 cm long.
Area = 14 × 35 = 490 cm2
4 You can write two equations, but you can’t solve them immediately.
xy = 48
2(x + y) = 28, so x + y = 14
The second equation tells you that x + y = 14.

© Cambridge University Press 2018 17

 Solving problems in mathematics – worked solutions

There are 7 possible values for x and y:

1 + 13
2 + 12
3 + 11
4 + 10
5+9
6+8
7+7
Only one of these pairs will give 48 when multiplied together.
6 × 8 = 48, so the sides are 6 cm and 8 cm long.

You could also solve these equations by substituting one into the other.
You can rearrange the second equation to give: y = 14 – x
Substituting this into the first equation gives:
x(14 – x) = 48
Rearrange to give:
x2 – 14x + 48 = 0
Solve to give:
x = 6 or x = 8 so the sides are 6 cm and 8 cm long.

© Cambridge University Press 2018 18