Turning a word problem into a mathematical equation involves identifying the knowns and unknowns. One example where I turned a situation into an equation with one variable is when I was purchasing 3-ring binders for work. After looking at the budget I knew I had $45.00 to spend on binders for the office. To be smart with my spending I went during tax-free weekend, so taxes are not a factor in my equation. I also knew that the binders I wanted cost $3.00 each. My resulting equation was 3x = 45. The missing variable represents how many binders I can purchase. I was able to purchase 15 binders. To solve the equation first: you isolate x by dividing 3 by each side: 3x/3 = 45/3 reduced: x = 45/3 solving: x = 15 By focusing on what the numbers represented and how they related to each other and by solving the equation using step-by-step logic anyone can master the underlying concepts and become more comfortable with word problems. All I had to do was picture in my mind what I was looking for (how many binders I could get) and plug in the numbers to the equation to solve.