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70 Math Word Problems to Practice With Kids

For many children, math word problems are one of the first steps into understanding the “why” behind the numbers they learn in class. To help them with practice, this article provides a clear roadmap to word problems for every grade and helps them decode the tricky math language.

Key points

• Math problems are an important link between classroom arithmetic and practical everyday situations.
• The guide contains many test questions, starting from easy math problems and growing in complexity.
• You can find math word problem example and solutions for different grades, as well as by category.
• Interactive learning platforms like Brighterly can provide personalized tutoring with experienced teachers to make math word problems more approachable.

Why use word math problems?

Using word problem in math bridges the gap between the abstract math world and reality. They also challenge your child to think carefully about the problem they read to find the solution, which also improves their reading comprehension.

Educational platforms like Brighterly offer math classes, during which tutors help kids get started with simple math word problems and move to more challenging ones as they improve. This interactive approach, as statistics show, significantly improves learning outcomes and helps children stay engaged for much longer.

Also, you can see some learning platforms and compare their learning functionalities in the 10 best interactive math websites guide.

50 math problems for kids categorized by grade

• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 8

1st grade math word problems 

Problem: Sally has 5 apples. She gives 2 apples to her friend. How many apples does Sally have now?

Solution: Sally has 5 – 2 = 3 apples left.

Problem: There are 8 birds on a tree. 3 birds fly away. How many birds are left on the tree?

Solution: 8 – 3 = 5 birds are left on the tree.

Problem: You have 6 blue balloons and 4 red balloons for his party. How many balloons do you have for your party?

Solution: 6 + 4 = 10. You have 10  beautiful balloons for your party.

Problem: Mom put 9 cookies into a jar. If Leo eats 4 of them, how many cookies are left for later?

Solution: 9 – 4 = 5.  Only 5 cookies are left for later.

Problem: You see 3 butterflies sitting on a flower. Then, 5 more butterflies join them. How many butterflies are there now?

Solution: 3 + 5 = 8. There are 8 butterflies.

Problem: Maya has a collection of 10 toy cars. She gives 3 cars to her little brother. How many toy cars does Maya have left?

Solution: 10 – 3 = 7. Maya has 7 toy cars.

Problem: In your pencil case, you have 2 yellow pencils, 2 green pencils, and 2 blue pencils. How many pencils in total do you have?

Solution: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6. You have 6 pencils.

Problem: There are 7 frogs sitting near the pond. 4 frogs jump into the water to swim. How many frogs are still sitting near the pond?

Solution: 7 – 4 = 3. There are 3 frogs left sitting.

2nd grade math word problems 

Problem: A toy store has 15 teddy bears and 9 dolls. How many toys are there in total?

Solution: There are 15 + 9 = 24 toys in total.

Problem: A rectangle has a length of 8 units and a width of 5 units. What is the perimeter of the rectangle?

Solution: The perimeter is 2 × (length + width) = 2 × (8 + 5) = 26 units.

Problem: When the school cafeteria opened in the morning, they had 45 apples. After lunch, only 12 apples were left. How many apples were eaten?

Solution: 45 -12 = 33 apples.

Problem: Jake has 25 in his piggy bank. For his birthday, his grandma gave him 15 more. How much money does Jake have now?

Solution: Jake has 25 + 15 = 40 dollars after his birthday.

Problem: You are in a square garden, which has sides that are 6 meters long. What is the total perimeter of the garden?

Solution: The perimeter is 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24 (or 4×6) meters.

Problem: A triangle has sides that are 7 cm, 5 cm, and 9 cm long. What is the perimeter of this triangle?

Solution: 7 + 5 + 9 = 21 cm.

Problem: Your classroom has three shelves. One shelf contains 13 books, another one contains 22 books, and the third one contains 6 books. How many books in total are on the shelves?

Solution: 13 + 22 + 6 = 41 books on the shelves.

3rd grade math word problems 

Problem: A garden has 36 flowers. If there are 6 rows with the same number of flowers, how many are in each row?

Solution: Each row has 36 ÷ 6 = 6 flowers.

Problem: John bought a toy for $18 and a puzzle for $9. How much money did John spend in total?

Solution: John spent 18 + 9 = $27.

Problem: Your teacher bought 6 packs of pencils for the class, with 12 pencils in each pack. How many pencils did your teacher buy?

Solution: The teacher bought 6 x 12 = 72 pencils.

Problem: Sarah went to the library and borrowed 15 books on Monday and 7 more on Tuesday. On Friday, she returned 10 books. How many library books does she still have at home?

Solution: 15 + 7 = 22 total books, 22 – 10 = 12 left after returning 10.

Problem: Imagine that you want to share a box of 48 chocolates equally among your 8 friends. How many chocolates will each friend receive?

Solution: Each friend will receive 48 ÷ 8 = 6 chocolates.

Problem: A video game costs 45. Mark has saved 27. How much more money does he need to save to be able to buy the game?

Solution: 45 – 27 = 18. Mark needs $18 more.

4th grade math word problems 

Problem: A box contains 48 pencils. How many packs are there if there are 8 pencils in each pack?

Solution: There are 48 ÷ 8 = 6 packs.

Problem: If the perimeter of a square is 36 units, what is the length of one side of the square?

Solution: Each side of the square is 36 ÷ 4 = 9 units.

Problem: A new bicycle costs 180. Your friend has already saved 95 and receives another 25 for his birthday. How much more money does he need to buy the bike?

Solution: Friend has 95 + 25 = 120 currently, needs 180 – 120 = 60 more.

Problem: You are in a rectangular playground, which has a length of 15 meters and a width of 10 meters. What is the total area in square meters?

Solution: Do a multiplication of 15 x 10 = 150sqm.

Problem: During running practice, Chloe ran 4 laps on Monday, 5 laps on Tuesday, and 3 laps on Wednesday. If each lap is 400 meters, what is the total distance she ran?

Solution: 4 + 5 + 3 = 12, then 12 x 400 = 4800 meters.

Problem: You have a large fruit basket that contains 36 pieces of fruit. If 1/3 of the fruits are apples and 1/4 are oranges, how many apples and oranges do you have in total?

Solution: 36/3=12 for apples, and 36/4=9 oranges. You have 12 +9 = 21 apples and oranges in the basket.

5th grade math word problems 

Problem: There are 25 students in a class. If 40% of them are girls, how many girls are in the class?

Solution: (40 ÷ 100) × 25 = 10 girls are in the class.

Problem: A recipe calls for 3/4 cup of sugar. How much sugar will you need to make half of the recipe?

Solution: You will need (1/2) × (3/4) = 3/8 cup of sugar.

Math word problem: A pair of sneakers you want originally costs 80. The store is offering a 25% discount. How much money will you save, and what is the discounted price?

Solution: Savings 0.25 x 80 = 20 (or 80 x 25/100), the new price is 80 – 20 = 60. 

Problem: A baker has 5 cups of flour. If each batch of cookies requires 3/4 of a cup of flour, how many full batches can the baker make?

Solution: 5 ÷ (3/4) = 5 x (4/3) = 20/3 = 6 new batches, with 2/3 of a cup of flour remaining (which is 1/2 cup). 

Problem: The 5th grade class wants to raise 500 for a field trip. They have already raised 245.50 through a car wash and 120.75 through a bake sale. How much more money do they need still?

Solution: 245.50 + 120.75 = 366.25 was already raised. 500 – 366.25 = 133.75 is still needed.

6th grade math word problems 

Problem: If a train travels at a speed of 75 km/h for 2.5 hours, how far does it travel?

Solution: The distance traveled is 75 km/h × 2.5 h = 187.5 km.

Problem: The ratio of boys to girls in a class is 3:4. If there are 28 students, how many are boys?

Solution: The total number of ratio parts is 3 + 4 = 7. Each part is 28 ÷ 7 = 4. Boys = 3 × 4 = 12.

Problem: The ratio of red marbles to blue marbles in a jar is 2:5. If there are 35 blue marbles, how many red marbles are there?

Solution: Since 35 ÷ 5 = 7, we multiply the red portion of the ratio by 7: 2 x 7 = 14. There are 14 red marbles.

Problem: A grocery store sells a 5-pound bag of flour for 8.50. What is the price per pound?

Solution: 8.50 ÷ 5 = 1.70 per pound.

Problem: A recipe for 4 people uses 2 cups of rice. If you want to make the same recipe for 10 people, how many cups of rice do you need?

Solution: 2 ÷ 4 = 0.5 cups per person, 0.5 x10 = 5 cups of rice in total.

Problem: During the apartment renovation, a wall needs to be painted red. The wall is 14 feet long and 9 feet high. If one gallon of paint covers 100 square feet, will one gallon be enough to cover the wall?

Solution: Area is 14 x 9 = 126 square feet. Since 126 > 100, one gallon will not be enough.

7th grade math word problems 

Math word problem example: If a shirt initially costs $45 and is on sale for 30% off, what is the sale price?

Solution: The sale price is $45 – (30/100) × $45 = $31.50.

Problem: Sam can paint a fence in 6 hours, while his friend Tom can paint it in 4 hours. How long will it take if they work together?

Solution: Their combined work rate is 1/6 + 1/4 = 5/12. It will take them 1 / (5/12) = 12/5 hours, or 2.4 hours.

Problem: You deposit $2,000 into a savings account with a simple interest rate of 4% per year. How much interest will you earn after 3 years?

Solution: $2,000 x 0.04 (or 4/100) x 3 = 240 in interest.

Problem: A store owner buys a pair of headphones for 40 and adds the price by 60% to sell them. What is the new price of the headphones?

Solution: Increase = 40 x 0.60 = 24. New price = 40 + 24 = 64. The new price of the headphones is $64.

Problem: There are 5 green, 7 blue, and 8 yellow marbles. What is the probability of picking a non-yellow marble at random?

Solution: 5 + 7 + 8 = 20 total marbles, with 7 + 8 = 12 non-yellow marbles. The probability of picking a non-yellow marble is 12/20 = 3/5.

Problem: The sum of the angles in a triangle is 180°. If one angle is 90° and the other two angles are represented by 2x and x, what is the value of x?

Solution: The equation is 90 + 2x + x = 180. Since 90 + 3x = 180, then 3x = 180 – 90 = 90. Then, x = 90/30 = 30. The value of x is 30. 

8th grade math word problems 

Problem: Solve for x: 3x + 5 = 17.

Solution: Subtract 5 from both sides, then divide by 3: x = 4.

Problem: The sum of two consecutive odd integers is 64. What are the integers?

Solution: Let the integers be x and x + 2. Solving the equation 2x + 2 = 64 gives x = 31. So the integers are 31 and 33.

Problem: Car Company A charges 40 per day plus 0.10 per mile. Car Company B charges $30 per day plus $0.20 per mile. At how many miles will the cost for one day be the same for both companies?

Word problem math solution: Equation is 40 + 0.10x = 30 + 0.20x. Subtract 0.10x and 30 from both sides: 10 = 0.10x, then divide by 0.10 to find x = 100. 

Problem: A rectangular park is 30 meters long and 40 meters wide. If you walk diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner, how many meters do you walk?

Solution: Use the Pythagorean theorem for 30^2 + 40^2 = c^2, which gives us 900 + 1600 = 2500. Taking the square root gives c = 50 meters.

Problem: The sum of two angles is 90°. One angle is 12° less than twice the other. What are their measures?

Solution: Let the angles be x and 2x – 12. The equation is x + (2x – 12) = 90. 3x = 102, which gives us x = 34. The angles are 34° and 56°.

Problem: A farm has only chickens and cows, with 30 heads and 100 legs in total. How many chickens and how many cows are there?

Solution: Let c be chickens and w be cows. c + w = 30 and 2c + 4w = 100. From the first, we get c = 30 – w. Substitute: 2(30 – w) + 4w = 100, so 60 – 2w + 4w = 100, which gives us 2w = 40. There are 20 cows and 10 chickens.

These are just a few math word problems with answers, but they can give your child some practice solving real problems and a better idea of the difficulty levels a mathematical problem can have.

If you want to help with arithmetic word problems, in the next section, we will look into some concept-specific math problems.

20 skill-based mathematical word problems

• Addition word problems
• Subtraction word problems 
• Multiplication word problems
• Division word problems
• Mixed word problems

Easy addition math problems

Problem: Emily has 5 apples, and her friend Alex gives her 3 more. How many apples does Emily have in total?

Solution: 5 + 3 = 8

Problem: Jake has 7 toy cars, and his brother Ethan gives him 2 more toy cars. How many toy cars does Jake have now?

Solution: 7 + 2 = 9

Problem: Team A scored 3 goals in a soccer match, and Team B scored 4 goals. How many goals were scored in total during the match?

Solution: 3 + 4 = 7

Problem: Jane had 25 marbles, and she found 11 more marbles in her backyard. How many marbles does Jane have in total?

Solution: 25 + 11 = 36

Subtraction word problems

Problem: Lily had 40 math homework pages to complete. She finished 28 of them. How many math homework pages does she still need to complete?

Solution: 40 – 28 = 12

Problem: Jack practiced soccer for 1 hour on Monday and 1.5 hours on Tuesday. How much time did he spend practicing soccer in total?

Solution: 1 + 1.5 = 2.5 hours

Problem: There were 25 gumballs in the machine. After Sam bought 10 gumballs, how many gumballs are left in the machine?

Solution: 25 – 10 = 15

Problem: The ice cream shop had 12 chocolate and 5 vanilla ice cream cones. How many more chocolate cones are there than vanilla cones?

Solution: 12 – 5 = 7

Multiplication word problems

Problem: Amy has 3 bags, and each bag contains 8 candies. How many candies does she have in total?

Solution: 3 bags × 8 candies/bag = 24 candies

Problem: There are 5 boxes, and each box contains 6 apples. How many apples are there in total?

Solution: 5 boxes × 6 apples/box = 30 apples

Problem: A library has 4 bookshelves, and each shelf can hold 10 books. How many books can the library hold in total?

Solution: 4 bookshelves × 10 books/shelf = 40 books

Problem: In a garden, there are 7 bunches of flowers, and each bunch has 9 flowers. How many flowers are there in total?

Solution: 7 bunches × 9 flowers/bunch = 63 flowers

Simple division word problems

Here are some math word problems with answers addressing division.

Problem: Anna made 72 cupcakes for a school party for 9 tables. How many cupcakes should she put on each table?

Solution: 72 ÷ 9 = 8 cupcakes for each table.

Problem: The cinema sold 42 tickets to the movie. If there are 6 rows of seats. If everyone sits together equally, how many people will be in each row?

Solution: 42 ÷ 6 = 7. There are 7 people in each row.

Problem: You have a ribbon that is 100 cm long. You need to cut it into 4 equal pieces to wrap some gifts. How long will each ribbon piece be?

Solution: 100 ÷ 4 = 25

Problem:  A TV show you plan to watch has 12 episodes and a total runtime of 480 minutes. How long is each episode if they are all equal?

Solution: 480 ÷ 12 = 40 minutes per episode.

Mixed word problems

Math word problem: A pack of markers costs $5, and Mia wants to buy 4 packs. How much will Mia spend in total?

Solution: 4 packs × $5/pack = $20

Problem: Noah has 32 chocolate chip cookies and wants to divide them equally into 4 bags. How many cookies will be in each bag?

Solution: 32 cookies ÷ 4 bags = 8 cookies per bag

Problem: There are 18 apples and 15 oranges. If Ava wants to put an equal number of fruits in each basket and maximize the number of baskets, how many will Ava need?

Solution: The greatest common divisor of 18 and 15 is 3. So, Ava will need 3 baskets.

Problem: There are 8 red balloons and 12 blue balloons. If Owen wants to divide them equally among 4 groups for a party game, how many balloons will be in each group?

Solution: (8 red balloons + 12 blue balloons) ÷ 4 groups = 5 balloons per group

If your child is having problems with understanding how to approach word problems in math, you can get some great tips in the how to solve math word problems article, as well as give them some interactive, real-time practice with quiz-like math tests for every level.

Conclusion 

Learning how to solve a math word problem is a very important step in developing a child’s analytical thinking and real-world logic. As they progress through these grade-specific challenges, they will learn not only to conduct arithmetic operations but also how to translate a complex story into numbers and equations.

In case you think your child needs more guidance from professional math tutors, Brighterly math and reading platform can be a great choice for you.

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