Mixed Operation Word Problems Worksheets
This is a section that we use to review all the different scenarios that may occur when students encounter real world problems. We often present them with problems that have a fixed operation and students get in the habit of just determining which digits to use to satisfy the problem. The problems they will find below require them to think at a higher level and discover what operations are required first. I often encourage my students to draw a quick diagram or drawing of each scenario. Yes, this can take longer, but it is worth its weight in gold to make sure you are being accurate and focused. These worksheets teach students how to identify keywords that give away the operations needed to complete word problems.
Aligned Standard: Grade 3 Operations - 3.OA.8
- Multiplication and Addition Step-by-step Lesson- A word problem that has you find a product and then a sum.
- Guided Lesson - When I first saw these, I thought they were for grade four or five, but the Core Curriculum steps up their game here.
- Guided Lesson Explanation - I tried to make this one as clear as possible. It took 2 pages to get out.
- Practice Worksheet - Students will need a good deal of practice with these problems. The goal is to fully understand what they are asking of you.
- Matching Worksheet - Match the word problem to its final output.
- Answer Keys - These are for all the unlocked materials above.
Homework Sheets
These problems were really fun to write and I'm sure the kids will enjoy.
- Homework 1- If they share the toys equally, how many toys will each kid get?
- Homework 2- A baker makes 4 dozen cakes. He sells 11 cakes on Monday and 27 cakes on Tuesday. He throws the rest out. How many cakes did he throw out?
- Homework 3- Renee had filled the closet with 50 teddy bears. She had 4 boxes. She wanted to put the teddy bears evenly in the boxes. When she was done she had a few left over bears that would not allow her to make the boxes even. How many extra bears did she have?
Practice Worksheets
Each sheet is progressively harder as they become more abstract.
- Practice 1- The zoo has a total of 98 guests today. 56 were there before lunch. How many guests went to the zoo after lunch?
- Practice 2- There are two areas where dinosaurs are eating grass. The areas are separated by a large patch of trees. Area A has 34 dinosaurs and area B has 17 dinosaurs. A Tyrannosaurus Rex crushes the trees between them. Including the T‐Rex, how many dinosaurs are there on the field now?
- Practice 3- Riley has 7 soccer balls. She has 12 more basketballs than soccer balls. There are 5 more footballs than soccer balls. How many balls does Riley have in all?
Math Skill Quizzes
The first quiz is a bit harder for kids.
- Quiz 1- Jared was asked to rake all of the leaves. He raked the leaves into 6 different piles. He bagged 2 of the piles. His little brother played a trick on him and split all the remaining piles of leaves in half. How many piles of leaves are there now?
- Quiz 2- The boys need 30 cones to setup their lacrosse field. Jim had 6 cones in his garage. Jason has 17 cones in his attic. How many more cones do the boys need?
How to Determine the Type of Math Operations Used in Word Problems
We know it is sometimes difficult to identify what type of math operation needs to be used in order to solve a math problem that is set in story or scenario type of problem. The main reason why so many students face the challenge is that they either do not understand the problem or are unfamiliar with the terms that indicate which type of operations are required.
It is essential to take your time to spot specific keywords that can help understand which of the operations makes the most sense. There are some words that you may find that are directly associated with certain math operations.
Addition
This is the most common operation that you will find in real life scenarios. Some of these terms are obvious and others are almost hidden and tricky to discover in longer written problems. Here are the terms that most frequently used to indicate you need to add: altogether, all, and, both, increase, sum, total.
Subtraction
There are many different terms that will encourage you to find a difference (subtract) of sorts. Some common terms you will come across include: change, decrease, greater, left, less, more, take away, remain, remove, smaller. The common phrase that indicates the need to subtract builds off of these words: how many/much more/less.
Multiplication
There are a wide variety of terms that are used to indicate multiplication. There are words that indicate a fixed scale of sorts, such as the words: double, triple, and quadruple. You then have more abstract terms such as: at this rate, every, factor, and product. There are also obvious terms that indicate this operation such as: multiple, multiply, and times.
Division
This is one of the more complicated operations to locate in word problems. It is often because students are not familiar with these vocabulary words. It is the time where math may be ahead of their reading level especially if they are a little behind in reading. I find it helpful to work these terms into language arts units as well. The common phrases and terms that indicate the need to divide include: each, every, group, quotient, share, sort.
As you can see there is cross over and each problem may include multiple operations that you will need to discover. There are terms such as "partition" that can be used to indicate many different operations. As with every skill, the more practice you have with solving word problems, the easier they become.