Assess the facts. Determine what you can about the equation, whether it is the rate, time or distance listed in the words of the problem. For example, if the problem reads: "Bobby rode his bike 3 miles to Grandma's house. It took him 20 minutes to get there. How fast was Bobby going?" The information you need is: D = 3 and T = 20 minutes.
Replace the letter symbols in the formula with the information given in the problem. For Bobby's problem, the information leaves you with an equation like this:
3 = 20 minutes x Rate.
You are solving for miles per hour, so you must convert the 20 minutes into hours. 20 becomes 1/3 because the conversion is 20 over 60 or 20/60, for 60 minutes in an hour. The fraction reduces to 1/3.
If necessary, transpose the information to solve the equation. In the problem above, you must solve for Rate. Therefore, you start with the equation: 3 = 1/3 x Rate, and then you must transpose the equation so Rate is by itself, with Time and Distance on the other side of the equal sign.
Solve the equation using the necessary math skills. In the instance of Bobby, you must remove the fraction by multiplying by the number 3. However, what you do to one side of the equation, you must do to the other, so both sides of the equation are multiplied by 3.
Record your solution in the proper unit of measurement. In the example of Bobby, the solution to the equation is: 9 = Rate, with Rate being in minutes. The answer to the equation is 9 minutes.