Here's an easy word problem: Suzy is ten years older than Billy, and next year she will be twice as old as Billy. How old are they now? If you don't use algebra, you probably have to solve it by trial and error. This sometimes works fine. Here it is a little slow. And, in other problems, it is next to impossible. 1. Translate into equations With algebra, the solution is easy. The only problem is to convert the above sentence into equations, because equations are what we need to use algebra. How is this? S=10+B S+1=2(B+1) That is a direct translation of the word problem. I used S to represent Suzy's age (this year), and B for Billy's age. I could use other letters, but these are easier to remember. Do you see how this translation is done? "Suzy is ten years older than Billy" is an equation (S=10+B), but is in words instead of symbols. "Next year she will be twice as old as Billy" is a little more complicated, but is just another equation (S+1=2(B+1)).
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