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Definition of word problem
: a mathematical problem expressed entirely in words typically used as an educational tool
Examples of word problem in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web This was not true for the word problem portion of our test.
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Sian Beilock, Quartz, "Why Americans are bad at math," 19 Feb. 2020 Our children are being locked in small, overcrowded rooms for several hours each day, forced to solve complicated word problems of no practical value.
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Alex Baia
Thatcher Jensen, The New Yorker, "Conspiracy Theories for the Ultra-Rational," 7 June 2019 Placement tests also aren’t perfect, because reading passages and word problems may reference subjects some students aren’t familiar with, while other students may underperform because of nerves, Zaback said.
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Meg Wingerter, The Denver Post, "Line between remedial, mainstream classes blurs as Colorado colleges reconsider paths to student success," 12 Aug. 2019 The math section is made up of multiple-choice word problems, as well as computational questions.
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Tyler Blint-welsh, New York Times, "What Is the SHSAT Exam? And Why Does It Matter?," 21 June 2018 Gone are the days of apples and oranges — the word problems on a recent middle school math test used cocaine, ammunition and tricks for arithmetic practice.
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Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "Middle School Students Receive Quiz About Prostitution, Drugs and Gangs," 2 June 2016 The Roxana School District, on the other hand, called the word problems examples of poor judgment.
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Anne Branigin, The Root, "Parents Big Mad Over High School Math Teacher’s Drug-Referencing Homework," 6 Feb. 2018 Sanders also added in a three-minute-long word problem and her best Mariah Carey impersonation.
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Anne Branigin, The Root, "The Lowlights From the White House’s ‘How to Get Away With Conspiracy Against the US’ Playbook," 30 Oct. 2017 The research involved controlled experiments such as pairing a fun activity (playing a game) with a work task (completing math and word problems).
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Demetria Gallegos, WSJ, "Work Before Fun? That Might Not Always Be Best," 22 Oct. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'word problem.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for word problem
The first known use of word problem was in 1903
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