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Study Guides > Prealgebra

Introduction to Solving Word Problems That Have Decimals

A stack of coins on a table Decimals often appear in problems dealing with money.
Emily is digging through her car to find change to put in the parking meter. She finds twice as many dimes as nickels, and one fewer quarter than dimes. Altogether, she comes up with $2.00--just enough to cover the amount of time she'll have to park for her appointment! How can you figure out how many of each coin Emily put in the meter? You'll need to think about the value of each coin, which is usually expressed as a decimal (quarters are worth $.25, dimes are $.10, and so on). In this section, you'll practice solving word problems like this one involving coins, tickets, and stamps.  

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:
  • Solve coin word problems
  • Solve ticket and stamp word problems
  • Solve equations with decimal coefficients
  Before you get started in this module, try a few practice problems and review prior concepts.

readiness quiz

1)

If you missed this problem, review this video about the distributive property. https://youtu.be/VyDN3wUjYZs 3) If you missed this problem, review this video on how to solve a linear equation by clearing decimals first. https://youtu.be/Yc74lLdtPrU

Licenses & Attributions

CC licensed content, Original

  • Question ID 140282, 140288, 140292. Authored by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution.

CC licensed content, Shared previously

  • Ex: Solve a Basic Two Step Equation With Decimals (Clear Decimals). Authored by: James Sousa (Mathispower4u.com). License: CC BY: Attribution.
  • Using the Distributive Property to Multiply Quickly. Authored by: James Sousa (Mathispower4u.com). License: CC BY: Attribution.
  • Examples 1: Multiplication of Decimals. Authored by: James Sousa (Mathispower4u.com). License: CC BY: Attribution.
  • Coins. Authored by: chefranden. License: CC BY: Attribution.

CC licensed content, Specific attribution