The procedure shown on page 46 is similar to that used by most instructors and texts. One of the variations that a number of instructors use is called RISERS. This is a word formed from the first letters (an acronym) of the words that outline the procedure. These are Read, Imagine, Sketch, Equate, Relate, and Solve. We now briefly outline this procedure here.

• Read the statement of the problem carefully.

• Imagine. Take time to get a mental image of the situation described.

• Sketch a figure.

• Equate, on the sketch, the known and unknown quantities.

• Relate the known and unknown quantities with an equation.

• Solve the equation.

There are problems where a sketch may simply be words and numbers placed so that we may properly equate the known and unknown quantities. For example, in Example 2 on page 47, the sketch, equate, and relate steps might look like this:

If you follow the method on page 46, or this RISERS variation, or any appropriate step-by-step method, and write out the solution neatly, you will find that word problems lend themselves to solution more readily than you have previously found.