ChatGPT works a word problem

by Patrick Reany

On 26 July 2023, I asked ChatGPT to work a word problem for me, because I had heard
that it was recently not doing as well as it had been not too long ago in doing
mathematics. I wanted to test this claim myself.

Patrick:
Do you feel up to working a math word problem?

ChatGPT:
Absolutely! I'm here to help you with any math word problem you have. Please go
ahead and share the problem with me, and I'll do my best to assist you in solving it.

Patrick:
A man has a box containing nickels and dimes. It has ten coins in it, whose
value is 85¢. How many nickels and dimes are in the box?

ChatGPT:

Let's solve this math word problem step by step:

Let's represent the number of nickels as "N" and the number of dimes as "D".

We know that there are ten coins in the box. So, we can set up the first
equation based on the total number of coins: N + D = 10

The value of the nickels is 5 cents each, and the value of the dimes is
10 cents each. The total value of the coins is 85 cents. So, we can set up the
second equation based on the total value:

5N + 10D = 85

Now, we have a system of two equations:

N + D = 10
5N + 10D = 85

To find the values of N and D, we can use any suitable method, such as
substitution or elimination. Let's use the substitution method:

Solve the first equation for N:

N = 10 - D

Substitute the value of N in terms of D into the second equation:

5(10 - D) + 10D = 85

Distribute and simplify:

50 - 5D + 10D = 85

Combine like terms:

5D = 85 - 50
5D = 35

Solve for D:

D = 35 / 5
D = 7

Now that we have the value of D (number of dimes), we can find the value
of N (number of nickels) using the first equation:

N + D = 10
N + 7 = 10

Subtract 7 from both sides:

N = 10 - 7
N = 3

So, there are 3 nickels and 7 dimes in the box.

So, looks to me like ChatGPT can still do word problems well. I give
it 5 points out of 5.