Solving Word Problems

Step 1: Read through the problem carefully. Pay special attention to the numbers and
measurements.
Step 2: Determine what math operation you need to use to solve the problem. Some of the
problems require only one math operation to solve, but others may require two or more math
operations to solve. These are called two-step problems.
Step 3: Write an equation. Sometimes writing an equation with words first helps. Then change
put numbers in place of words.
Step 4: Solve the equation.
Step 5: Review. Ask yourself, does my answer make sense? Review the question and make sure
your answer fits with what the question is asking.

Addition
Combining parts together to get a total.
Key words or phrases:
o

Total

Sum

In all

Altogether

Combine

And

or

Key question: Do they give you a total and a part or two parts? Addition will always ask for a
total.

Example: Kim bought 3/8 lb. of sunflower seeds and 3/16 pound

of thistle seed for her bird. How much seed did she buy in all? 3/8 + 3/16 = 9/16 lb.

Total

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Solving Word Problems

Subtraction
Finding the difference or gap between two things.
Key words or phrases:

Difference

How many more/How much more

More than

Left over

Key question: Do they give you a total and part or two parts? Subtraction will always give you
a total and ask for a part. Example: John can throw a ball 10 feet. His brother can throw a ball 13
feet. How much farther can his brother throw the ball? 13-10 = 3 feet.

Total

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Solving Word Problems

Multiplication
The repeated addition of the same number. Makin copies.
Key words or phrases:
o

Product

Area problems with squares or rectangles

Times

Of

**** Look for multipliers (numbers with no measurement after it). Example: Alice
wants to fill a fish tank that holds 10 gallons of water. She has filled it 3/5 full. How
many gallons has she put in the tank so far? ****

****Look at the measurements. Do both numbers have the same measurement or are
they different? If they are different than you will multiply. Example: Joe can run 10
miles per hour. How many miles will he run in 3 hours? ****

Key question: Do they give you a total and part or two parts? Multiplication will almost always
give you two parts and ask for a total. The exception to this will be multipliers.

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Example: A turtle crawls 3 yards in an hour. How far will it crawl in 2
hours?

Example: Mr. Smith makes 2/5 quart of jam. He will give of it to his
neighbor. How much jam will his neighbor get?

Solving Word Problems

Division
Breaking a whole into equal groups.
Key words or phrases:
o

Quotient

Equal groups

How many would each person/thing get?

Remainder

Left over

Key question: Are you breaking something into equal groups? If yes, then you are dividing. The
second question to ask is, what are you dividing up? The answer to this question will tell you
which number comes first in your equation. For example, What you are dividing up total parts
or What you are dividing up/total. This will help you set up an equation properly. If you do not
ask this question it is very easy to set it up wrong.

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Example: Yoshi has a rope that is 30 feet long. He is going to cut it into
foot long pieces. How many pieces will he get? 30 = 30 x 4 = 120
pieces.

Example: Sara has to run around a mile track. She has 2 hours to run.
How many laps will she run in that time? 2 = 2 x 4 = 8 laps.

Example: Donna has a 16 ounce bag of rice. Each serving is 1/8 oz. How
many servings are in the bag? 16 1/8 = 16 x 8 = 128 servings