ROPES PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS AND STRATEGIES

What is ROPES? Ropes is a acronym for the steps of the problem

solving process that we will use to solve real life problems.

R: Read the problem Highlight any information that is needed to solve the problem

O: Omit Cross out any information that is unnecessary to solving the

problem

P: Make a plan choose a problem solving strategy

E: Evidence show your work

S: Solution write your answer in a complete sentence with complete

detail

R: Read the Problem

O: Omit any unnecessary information

The first step in the problem solving process is to read the problem.

After you have read the problem, you need to highlight the important information that is needed to solve the problem.

When you have highlighted the information needed to solve the problem, you must also omit or cross out information that is not needed to solve the problem.

Not all problems have unnecessary information, so there may not always be information that is crossed out.

Example:

The roots of a tree reach 12 feet into the ground. A dog chased a black and white kitten up the tree. It is stuck 5 feet from the top of the tree. From the treetop to the roots the tree is 32 feet. How far above ground is the kitten?

First read the problem. Decide what information is important and needs

to be highlighted and what information needs to be omitted or crossed out. Pause the podcast and try to follow the

steps.

Example:

P: Make a plan

Choose a problem solving strategy. Strategies:

Draw a diagramMake a chart/tableWork backwards

Find a patternGuess and testMake an organized list

Example:

P: Draw a diagram

12 feet

32 feet

5 feet

E: EvidenceSHOW YOUR WORK!

Taken from: http://www.nde.ne.gov/stars/documents/MoonVermaas1.ppt

Example:

Evidence: Using the diagram, you must show your work.

32 – 12 = 20 feet ~ This is the height of the tree from the ground.

20 – 5 = 15 feet ~ This is the height of the kitten from the ground.

12 feet

32 feet

5 feet

Clips taken from: dclips.fundraw.com

S: Solution

Your solution should be written with detail in a complete sentence.

For the example, our answer would be:

The cat is 15 feet from the ground.

Other Resources:

http://kapalama.ksbe.edu/elementary/resource/mproblemsolvingstrategies.html#Guess

http://web.scc.losrios.edu/files/tutoring/ProblemSolvingStrategies.doc

http://library.thinkquest.org/25459/learning/problem/index.html#strategy

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002327F/default.htm