I built a simple math solver and realized most word problems are the same
I kept running into the same type of questions again and again.
Different topics, different numbers, different stories…
but when you look closer, most math word problems follow very similar patterns.
That’s when I started thinking about building a small math solver to handle these cases in a simple way.
It started as a way to solve age problems, but quickly turned into something broader.
Age word problems are a good example of what I mean. You see a question like “a father is 25 years older than his son, and in 5 years he will be twice his son’s age” and it looks complicated. But in reality, it always comes down to defining variables and building a simple equation.
That same idea appears in many other types of problems.
Mixture problems look different, but they always follow the same logic of combining quantities and percentages. Speed time distance problems are just variations of distance equals speed multiplied by time. Profit and loss questions are basic percentage calculations wrapped in a story. Work and time problems are about combining rates. Ratio and proportion problems are just relationships between numbers.
Even number puzzles, which seem more random, often reduce to simple algebra once you translate them properly.
So instead of treating each problem as something new, I started treating them as patterns.
The tool reflects that idea. You don’t need to write full equations manually. You just enter the key values, and it builds and solves the equation for you.
It currently supports common categories like age problems, mixture problems, speed time and distance, profit and loss, work and time, ratio and proportion, and basic number puzzles.
There’s no account, no setup, and no subscription. It’s just a simple math solver you can open and use directly.
One thing I noticed while building this is that the hardest part of solving math word problems is not the math itself. It’s translating the text into an equation. Once you have the equation, the rest is straightforward.
That’s why I’m thinking about adding full text input next. Being able to paste a word problem and get a step by step solution would make it much more useful.
Curious if others have worked on similar math tools or problem solvers. Did you notice the same pattern across different types of questions, or do you approach them differently?
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