Word Problems

What is the first step you should take to solve a word problem?

• Rewrite the problem.

• Read the whole problem.

• Plan how to solve the problem.

• Identify the numbers in the problem.

Karin is selling lemonade for $2 a cup. If she sells 8 cups of lemonade, how much money does she make in total?

• $10

• $14

• $16

• $20

Which of the following signal words or phrases suggests that you should use multiplication?

• altogether

• for each

• left over

• per

Angelo made 36 cookies. He divides them evenly among his 6 friends. How many cookies will each friend get?

• 8 cookies

• 9 cookies

• 6 cookies

• 5 cookies

What should you do with information in a word problem that does not help you answer the question?

• Rewrite it.

• Cross it out.

• Read it carefully.

• Circle it in case you need it later.

Georgia is making necklaces. Each necklace has 3 blue beads and 5 red beads. How many red beads will she need to make 8 necklaces?

• 25 red beads

• 30 red beads

• 35 red beads

• 40 red beads

Kelly is given the following word problem.

Gina runs 5 miles on Saturday and 6 miles on Sunday. How many miles does she run total?

Kelly's answer is 11. What did Kelly do wrong?

• She added 5 and 6 instead of multiplying.

• She subtracted 5 from 6 instead of adding.

• She didn't ignore the extra information.

• She didn't include units in her answer.

Read the following word problem.

Chris is shopping for his sister's birthday cake. He buys 4 bottles of sprinkles that cost $4 each, and 2 boxes of candles that cost $5 each. How much does Chris spend in total?

What equation could you write to help you solve the problem?

• (4 + 4) x (2 + 5) = ?

• (4 x 4) + (2 x 5) = ?

• (4 x 4) / (2 + 5) = ?

• (4 / 4) + (2 / 5) = ?

Read the following word problem.

Paco is trying to win a bear at the carnival. The bear costs 30 tickets. Paco paid $5 for 10 tokens to use to play games. So far he's won 15 tickets and used 7 tokens on 5 different games. How many more tickets does he need to win the bear?

What units should accompany the answer to this problem?

• tokens

• dollars

• games

• tickets

Regi spends 3 hours watering her garden every week. She spends 4 hours weeding her garden every week. How many hours does Regi spend gardening a month? (Remember, a month has 4 weeks.)

• 24 hours

• 26 hours

• 28 hours

• 30 hours