Can you help me write a paragraph on Strategies?

Question

At the family reunion there were 15 more family members there this year than at the last family reunion. There were 46 people at this year’s family reunion. How many family members came to the last family reunion?

Write a paragraph explaining what strategy or strategies could be used to solve this problem. Be sure to include a way in which a variable equation could be implemented:

Answer 1

First strategy:  Reword the problem

 

  There were 46 people at the family reunion this year.  This is 15 more than those who attended last reunion.  How many attended last reunion?

 

Second step:  Assign a variable to the value the problem asks you to find

 

  Let x = number who attended last reunion

 

Third step:  Write the problem in the form of an equation

  "There were 46 people at the family reunion this year. This is 15 more than those who attended last reunion."   means

                     46                                                              =   15       +                            x

 

Fourth step:  Solve for x (the variable)

  "How many family members came to the last family reunion?"     means      What is x?

 

       46 = 15 + x

       31 = x                         [subtract 15 from both sides]

       x = 31

    31 people attended the last family reunion.

     

Fifth step:   Check:

   Is  46 = 31 + 15   ?

        46 = 46   ?yes