What is a common strategy for solving word problems in the Numeric/Quant section?

• A. Translate words into equations and check units to ensure the solution is reasonable.
• B. Guess and check without writing anything.
• C. Rely on mental math only.
• D. Skip units entirely.

Answer: (A)

Translating words into equations and checking units are essential when tackling word problems in the Numeric/Quant section. Turning the given facts into mathematical relationships makes how the quantities relate explicit, so you can solve for the unknown systematically. Defining variables, writing the equation that links distance, rate, time, or other quantities, and then solving keeps the problem organized and avoids guessing. The unit check is a built-in sanity test: the units on both sides should match, and the final units should align with what the problem asks for. If you get a mismatch or an impossible value, it signals a misread or a missetup, so you can revisit the relationships you wrote. This approach also helps you judge whether the answer is reasonable in the real-world context—for example, a time that’s negative or an impossible distance would indicate an error. For instance, if a problem says a car travels 120 miles at 60 miles per hour, you’d set distance = rate × time, so 120 = 60 × time, giving time = 2 hours, and the units work out as miles = (miles/hour) × hours, which makes sense. Guessing, relying only on mental math, or skipping units altogether lacks these safeguards and is more error-prone.