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Remember:Sometimes when you read a
problem there seems to be an awful lot of information given. Being
able to tell the difference between relevant (very important)
information and irrelevant (not important at all) information is
extremely important. This lesson will help you to develop
strategies for telling when information is either relevant or
irrelevant. |
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Model
Problems |
Let's start with
an easy example.
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On a
trip from A to B, a distance of 35 miles, Sally travels an
average speed of 25mph. Continuing on from B to C, Sally
travels an average speed of 30 mph and covered a distance of 90
miles in 3 hours. What was the total distance covered by
Sally on her trip |
First, read the
problem carefully! Then read it again!
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Knowing how to
separate out the irrelevant
information from the relevant
is easy...if you really know what the question is asking.
So always read a question at least two times before you begin
the solution. |
After you have read
the problem about Sally's trip you see that it tells us not only how
far she traveled, but also how fast, and even how long she traveled
during part of the trip.
But the question is
only interested in how far she traveled.
All of the other information is irrelevant.
Since this is our
first look at this strategy let's take the time to list the given
information. Then we will decide if it is
relevant or
irrelevant.
Distance
from A to B is 35 miles.
Relevant
During this part
of the trip she traveled 25 mph.
Irrelevant
Distance from B
to C is 90 miles.
Relevant
During this part
of the trip she traveled 30 mph.
Irrelevant
From B to C took
3 hours.
Irrelevant
To answer the question of
how far Sally traveled we only need to use the
relevant information and
ADD those distances together.
35 + 90 = ?
35 + 90 = 125
miles
Sally traveled
125 miles on her trip!
Click here to
look at another problem
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