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[quote=Anonymous]OP, you know how to do this problem, I’m sure of it! I think of word problems having two parts - the computation part and the problem solving part. The computation part can impede your understanding of the problem solving part. When you come across a word problem that seems tricky, try changing the numbers to simpler numbers so you can focus on the problem solving part.

For example, instead of

If I spent $60 and ended up being 120 percent of my budget, what amount would be 100 percent?

Try

If I spent $60 and ended up being 50% of my budget, what about would be 100%?

You probably know that the answer is $120 without having to use an equation or a variable. Now you know that you understand the problem, but it just seems harder because of the numbers. So you have $60 and 50% - how do you use those numbers to arrive at $120? Yes, you can change 50% to 1/2 and multiply by 2 or divide by 1/2. Or change 50% to 0.5 and multiply by 2 or divide by 0.5, but I think fractions are easier to deal with than decimals. If your problem solving works for simpler numbers, it will work for any numbers. It could be

If I spent ln(cos 60 - pi/3) and it ended up being 17,302,927% of my budget, what would be 100%?

and you would still do the problem the same way. 
[/quote]

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