They are usually given in the form of a story, which we translate into symbolic math in order to solve. Word problems are an important part of our mathematical education because real-life problems almost never present themselves to us in symbolic form.

You still can’t build a house unless you know where and when to use these tools. Software programs like Mathematica know almost all these algorithms and can solve pretty much any symbolic problem you can think of.īut knowing how to solve symbolic math problems is like knowing how to use a saw to cut wood and a hammer to drive nails. It can almost always be done by performing some purely mechanical process or “algorithm” (although it often helps to have a more intuitive understanding as well). Once expressed in symbols, solving a math problem is relatively easy. After all, this is why mathematical symbols were invented: to represent complex problems in a way that helps us organize our thinking in order to find their solutions. Second, Wolfram|Alpha can now solve both! That’s right, we’ve added math word problems to the kinds of questions you can ask Wolfram|Alpha!ĭid you find the second problem easier? It’s no surprise that most people find “word problems” harder, or that the first step in solving them is to translate them into symbolic form. First, the two problems are essentially the same the latter is just expressed in the language of symbolic mathematics.

If I have 12 apples, and Jane has 7, and then Jane gives 2 apples to me, how many more apples do I have than Jane?Īnswer: two things, actually.

What do the following two math problems have in common?

Wolf math alpha