Solving word problems

Mathematics · Addition & Subtraction · ages 4-6

Name ______________________ Date ____________

There are 6 apples. Sam eats 2 of them. How many apples are left? Write the number.
Answer: ______________
There are 3 apples on the plate. Mum adds 2 more apples. How many apples are on the plate now?
- 5
- 6
- 4
- 7
There are 7 apples. 3 are eaten. How many apples are left?
- 3
- 4
- 5
If things go away or get eaten, you should subtract.
Circle one: True False
Ava finds 5 shells. Then she finds 4 more shells. How many shells does Ava have now? Write the number.
Answer: ______________
Leo has 5 red dots and 2 blue dots on his paper. How many dots are there in all?
- 5
- 6
- 7
Leo has 4 red cars and 3 blue cars. How many toy cars does Leo have in total?
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 9
Tom says 8 minus 3 = 5. Is Tom right?
Circle one: True False
A story says: 'There are 5 blocks. 3 more come. How many blocks now?' Ben answered 2. What did Ben do wrong?
- He subtracted instead of adding
- He added instead of subtracting
- He forgot to count the blocks
There are 9 birds on the fence. 4 birds fly away. How many birds are still on the fence? Write the number.
Answer: ______________

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

4 · Take 2 away from 6 to get 4.
5 · Put 3 and 2 together to get 5.
4 · Start with 7 apples and take away 3 that got eaten. That leaves 4 apples.
True · Words like 'left' or 'eaten' are clues. They mean something is taken away.
9 · Put 5 and 4 together to get 9.
7 · Put the red dots and blue dots together. 5 and 2 more makes 7.
7 · Put 4 and 3 together to get 7.
True · Tom is right: 8 minus 3 = 5.
He subtracted instead of adding · 'More come' means add, but Ben took away instead. 5 plus 3 more is 8, not 2.
5 · Take 4 away from 9 to get 5.