1. Directions for solving problems. The following suggestions should be kept in mind when solving a problem: 1. Read the problem carefully.

2. Decide what facts the problem tells you.

3. Decide what things you need to find.

4. Think the processes by which the things needed may be found.

5. Estimate the result.

6. Perform accurately the processes decided upon.

In writing the solution use a form similar to the one at the bottom of the next page. On the left-hand side of the paper write the analysis or explanation of the problem. On the right-hand side write the computation, if any written computation is necessary.

EXAMPLE. A grocer buys a barrel of apples for $3.60. He sells them at 70¢ a peck. The barrel holds 2 bushels. One and one-half pecks of the apples are unfit to sell. How much does he make on the barrel of apples?

Thought process in solving. The problem tells us that

1. The barrel of apples costs $3.60.

2. The barrel holds 2 bushels.

3. One and one-half pecks of the apples are unfit to sell.

4. The grocer sells the others at 70¢ a peck.

We need to find out:

1. How many he sells.

2. How much he receives for them.

3. How much he makes on the barrel of apples.

To find out how many he sells we subtract the amount unfit to sell from the amount bought.

To find how much he receives for them we multiply the price per peck by the number of pecks sold.

To find the profit we subtract the cost from the selling price.

We estimate that:

1. He sold a little less than 2 bu.

2. He received a little more than $5 for them.

3. He made about $1.50 on them.

Exercise 1

1. If an American flag is 4 ft. wide, how wide is each. stripe?

2. One side of a lot measures 198 ft. How many posts will be required for a fence along this side if they are set a rod apart?

3. A certain varnish stain is sold in pint cans at 32¢ a can or in quart cans at 55¢ a can. One pint will stain 25 sq. ft. How many cans of stain must be bought to stain a floor 16 ft. wide and 20 ft. long? How much will it cost?

4. John's garden is 21 ft. wide and 41 ft. long. It is to be planted in popcorn in rows 2 ft. 6 in. apart. The hills are to be 2 ft. apart in the rows. How many hills will he have if the outer rows are 6 in. from the edge of the garden?

5. A boy was given 175 carnations, some red and some pink. He was told to tie the red ones in bunches of 6 each and sell them for 30¢ a bunch. He counted the pink ones and found that there were only 19. He sold all the red ones. How much did he get for them?

6. A committee is appointed to buy class colors for the 7B grade. Each pupil is to have 9 in. of each of two colors of ribbon. There are 24 pupils in the grade. The ribbon is to cost 18¢ a yard. How much must the committee collect from each pupil to pay for the ribbon?

7. Two boards are to be screwed together. One of them is of an inch thick and the other is of an inch thick. How long a screw will it take to reach through the halfinch board and half way through the seven-eighths-inch board? How long must the screw be to reach through the seven-eighths-inch board and of the way through the halfinch board?