Fraction Word Problems (w/Mixed Operations) Worksheets
Students always feel a little out of their element when they are working on scenario-based problems. As they become much better at them, they begin to see the real value that math has and the power that it can wield in the real world. In this setting we have created a series of problems over the course of the lessons and worksheets that will help your students feel comfortable with fractions in word problems from all types of different angles.
Aligned Standard: 5.NF.A.2 and 6.NS.A.1
- Mixed Operation Fraction Word Problems Lesson- Thomas, the pizza chef, wants to know how many slices of pizza he is making for his next order.
- Guided Lesson - Two young women are working hard in this word problem set. Julia at the deli and Marie is preparing for a track event.
- Guided Lesson Explanation - The hardest thing with these types of problems is understanding what is being asked and charting it out.
- Practice Worksheet 1 - The denominators of all of these problems are small to allow kids to have success with the concepts.
- Practice Worksheet 2 - You will need to read these in depth. Again, baby steps here. The more challenging work is found below.
- Answer Keys - These are for all the unlocked materials above.
Homework Sheets
The problems on these sheets use a specific operation so that you can pinpoint any weaknesses that exist.
- Homework 1 - Add - Jean makes a special snack for Sandra. It contains 1/4 cup flax seed, 3/8 cup Olive oil and 1/2 cup of oats. How many cups is Sandra's special snack?
- Homework 2 - Subtract - Jeff walked 2/3 of a 1 mile hike. How much farther does Jeff have to go to complete the hike?
- Homework 3 - Multiply - Gretchen collects teddy bears. 1/1 of the collection of teddy bears she received for her birthday. 1/2 of her birthday collection are large teddy bears. How much of her overall teddy bear collection are large teddy bears?
- Homework 4 - Divide - A lemonade pitcher has 12 cups of lemonade. If you pour a 1/2 cup as a serving how many servings are in the pitcher?
Practice Worksheets
We followed the same sequence here with the use of math operations.
- Practice 1 - Add - Tina loves to read. On Monday she read 6/3 pages, on Tuesday she read 12/6 pages and on Friday she read 24/6 pages. How many pages did she read?
- Practice 2 - Subtract - Josh marches 2/4 mile on Monday. How far does he need to march on Friday to make it 1 mile?
- Practice 3 - Multiply - Cliff collects antique farm equipment. 5/8 of his collection are tractors. Of these tractors 1/5 of them are in working order. How much of his whole collection are working tractors?
- Practice 4 - Divide - A bag of grain has 12 coffee cups of grain. If you pour a 1/3 of a coffee can as a serving how many servings are in the bag?
Tips for Fraction Word Problems
Word problems that involve fractions are often considered difficult for students resulting in reluctance in attempting the questions. Yes, they are a bit more complex than the normal word problems. However, using the right tips and rules, these questions can be solved by any student. All you need to do is practice. Let's try understanding certain examples.
Multiplying Fraction word problems: While at a bakery, a woman purchased bought half a pound of chocolate fudge cake. She ate that cake at night after dinner around 1/4 of it. How much is left?
Dividing Fraction Word Problem: Jamal's mother made his favorites, peanut butter caramel fudge cake around 1/3 of pound. She divided the fudge into four equal pieces. How much cake will go into each container?
Tips:
1. You need to read the problem carefully at first. Circle any keywords that may indicate a math operation. For addition, some commonly used terms include: both, in all, increase, and total. Subtraction: difference, fewer, take away, and less. Multiplication: product, times, and lots. Division: each, every, and shared. Give it another read, if you are still not able to understand.
2. Explain the problem in your own words to someone else (a friend or a teacher). It may help to draw a picture.
3. Translate this into an equation or an expression that indicates what we are trying to find. Practice the same problem with different variables and numbers. Students learn how to handle word problems that include and use fractional values.
4. Solve the problem and make sure that you are using the proper units. The value you calculate should answer the question posed by the problem.
Quick Operation Review with Fractions
When you are working with word problems that involve fractions it is good to refer back to the basic foundation of the math that is required. The universal rule when working with these types of problems is to ensure that you are working with fraction values that share a common denominator. The beauty of this is that you do not have to worry about using the least common denominator at first as long as you reduce the final fraction. Find a common denominator between the values that you find easy to work with. When you have both values in that format, addition and subtraction are simple. Just add the numerators for addition and subtract the numerators for subtraction. The denominator will not change. The operation just takes place at the numerator level. When it comes to multiplication, we do not need to worry about finding a common base, just multiply the numerators and denominators of the fractions together. Division is much the same divide the numerators and the denominators. Those are the basic rules you will need to follow when processing these problems. The biggest challenge when working with these types of problems is determining which operation you will need to work with based on the situation. If you look for common keywords, you can quickly establish the type of math that is involved. For addition look for the words: combine(d), increase, join, together, and total. For subtraction look for the words or phrases: decrease, difference, left over, less than, reduce, remove, and take away. For multiplication look for the words or phrases: by, per, product of, and times. For division look for the words: average, equal parts, out of, ratio, shared, and split.