Estimating answers to algebra word problems

Four experiments investigated 179 college students' intuitions about weighted averages. Ss estimated answers to distance, work, and mixture problems by either mentally solving the problem or guessing an approximate answer. A weighted average procedure could be used to solve the 3 different kind...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition memory, and cognition, 1984-10, Vol.10 (4), p.778-790
Main Author: Reed, Stephen K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition. Intelligence
Estimation
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Intuition
Mathematics
Problem Solving
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reasoning. Problem solving
Word Problem
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Summary:Four experiments investigated 179 college students' intuitions about weighted averages. Ss estimated answers to distance, work, and mixture problems by either mentally solving the problem or guessing an approximate answer. A weighted average procedure could be used to solve the 3 different kinds of problems by appropriately weighting the numbers specified in the problem. The results of the 1st 2 experiments reveal that Ss often used an inappropriate procedure, such as calculating an unweighted average. Exps III and IV revealed that problem format greatly influenced their estimation procedures. Ss often failed to recognize the equivalence of similar problems, even when the different variations of a problem were simultaneously presented. Suggestions for improving estimation skills are discussed. (16 ref)
ISSN:0278-7393
1939-1285
DOI:10.1037/0278-7393.10.4.778