GED Math Word Problem

Okay…I promised a GED word problem…word problems are a big part of the GED test, so it’s important to take a word problem and change it into a math problem before you can even do the math! So, why’s the GED test like this? Why’s it got so many word problems? Don’t they just make the GED test more confusing?

Truth is, the GED has word problems because they want to give you more real-life problems…not that all of them are things you might run across every day. But, if you want to figure out how much paint you need for your walls, you need to figure out how to make the calculation first. How do you figure how many gallons of paint you need for your walls?

That’s what the GED wants to test…can you figure out how to solve a math problem that you might run across in real life? Some of ‘em even just give you equations to pick the answer from…not even askin’ if you can solve the equation, but can you tell which one’s the right answer? So that, if you’re shoppin’ and want to figure which box of cereal’s the best deal, or how much paint to cover your walls, or you’re startin’ a business tryin’ to figure out what to price your product, how many you need to sell to make a profit, you’ll be headin’ in the right direction with the right math.

Ok, enough talkin’ about why the GED has word problems. Let’s jump into the practice problem…and here it is…

So, you want to paint two adjacent (next to each other) walls of your bedroom bright red. The bedroom is 10 x 12, and the walls are 8 feet high. One gallon of paint will cover 400 square feet. The paint is sold in quarts, too. You want to buy as little paint as possible. So, what’s the least amount of paint you can buy and still finish the job?

A) 1 quart

B) 2 quarts

C) 3 quarts

D) 1 gallon

D’ya get the answer? Think about it…. this problem’s got a lot of steps to get to the answer.

First thing I’m gonna do is look at how many square feet each of the answers is. 1 gallon covers 400 square feet. Well, there are 4 quarts in a gallon, so each quart covers 100 square feet.

A) 1 quart = 100 square feet

B) 2 quarts = 200 square feet

C) 3 quarts = 300 square feet

D) 1 gallon = 400 square feet

Now, you gotta know how many square feet the job is. Each wall is a rectangle… since they’re next to each other in a 10 x 12 room, one is 10 feet wide, and the other is 12 feet wide. Both of ‘em is 8 feet tall, the height of the room.

So, you’ve got a 10×8 foot wall and a 12×8 food wall.

To get the square feet, just multiply…. 10×8 = 80 square feet and 12×8=80+16=96 square feet (you can do it in your head if you practice). Together, 80 + 96 = 176.

So, 2 quarts will do it, right? That’ll cover your 176 square feet.

Did that make sense? Could you think through it, and keep it all straight? That’s the hard part…

Here is a website I found with practice changing sentences into math problems… maybe that’ll help with the word problems.

Good luck!