The term "word problem" in abstract algebra applies to groupss in a different sense than below: see word problem for groups.
In mathematics education, a word problem is a mathematical question written without relying heavily on mathematics notation.
The idea is to present mathematics to the students in a less abstract way and to give the students a sense of "usefulness" of mathematics. Word problems are supposed to be interesting problems that can motivate students to learn mathematics.
It should be noted that "word problem" is not a well-defined term in mathematics. In fact, all mathematical problems are expressed primarily in words, and the notation is merely a method of facilitating brevity and conciseness in writing these words. Therefore some mathematicians dislike the use of the term "word problem".
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2 Other problems 3 Misunderstandings |
Modelling questions
Word problems commonly include mathematical modelling questions, where data and information about a certain system is given and a student is required to develop a model. For example:
It is believed that the first example is really useful in helping primary school students to understand the concept of subtraction. The second example, however, might not be so interesting or so "real-life" to a high school student. A high school student may find that it is easier to handle the following problem:
- Given r=2, dh/dt=3. Find d/dt (π r2× h).
Indeed, in senior high school level or higher, this type of problems is often used solely to test understanding of underlying concepts within a descriptive problem, instead of testing the student's capability to perform algebraic manipulation or other "mechanical" skills. As a result, a word problem may even harder then the so-called "problems in equations" and indeed, it may inhibit a student's desire to learn mathematics.