Basic Math Word Problems
There are five basic math word problems here.
1) GETTING PAID FOR WORK
List the tasks completed and the rate of pay.
Derick mows lawns. This week he mowed Mr Thompson's lawn for $20, Mrs Green's for $30, Mr Jacobson's for $15 and Mr Abbot's for $20. How much did he make?
This math word problem can be easily extended by adding a goal.
Derick is saving to buy a motorbike. How many weeks will he have to mow lawns to buy a $1000 motorbike?
Here are some other "getting paid for work" subjects to explore.
Delivering newspapers - 3 in James Road, 5 in Queen Street, 6 in Apple Lane, 10 in Makely street, 3 in.....
Feeding animals - cats $3 per day for 12 days, dog $4 per day for 5 days, Fish $3 per day for 6 days......
Baby sitting - $8 per hour for 3 hours on Tuesday, 5 hours on Wednesday, 6 hours on Saturday night, 2.....
Fast food restaurant - $15 per hour for 20 hours, had to buy shoes ($30), apron ($15) - how much is left....
Washing cars - $15 for small cars/$20 for station wagons/$30 for 4 wheel drives - 3 small cars, 5 station.....
2) TIME
List the tasks that need to be done and the amount of time each one takes.
Andrew has to leave his house at 8:30 a.m to get to work at 9:00 a.m.
It takes him
15 minutes to shower,
15 minutes to shave and brush his teeth,
20 minutes to get dressed,
20 minutes to make and eat breakfast,
10 minutes to make lunch and
10 minutes to feed his two dogs.
What time does Andrew need to get up to be ready to leave at 8:30 a.m
This type of problem can be easily extended by including a delay (late train/traffic jam). If Andrew's train was 15 minutes late, what time would he get to work?
Here are some other time subjects to explore:
Catching a plane: give keys to neighbor, feed animals, drive to airport etc- leave home at what time?
Meeting for the movies: walk home from school/do chores/buy snacks/walk to movies-which session?
Late night out: show finished at 10:30, had coffee, drove Alice and Mick home etc - home at what time?
Car repairs: mechanic spent 30 minutes on safety check, 45 minutes grease and oil etc - time in total?
Exercising: 30 mins Monday, 25 minutes Tuesday, 45 minutes Wednesday etc - total time this week?
Photocopying: It takes 15 seconds to photocopy 1 sheet. How long will it take to do 30? 50? 120?
3) IN BUSINESS
List what is being sold, its cost and the numbers sold.
The school cake stall sold 320 cupcakes on the day of the fete. Each cupcake cost $1.20. How much money should they have at the end of the day?
This can be extended by including the issue of cost. If each cupcake cost 20 cents to produce, how much profit did they make?
Here are some other business subjects to explore:
Bead bracelet - sold 55 bracelets at $4.50/20 beads per bracelet - beads cost 5 cents each - profit?
Sheep Farmer - 22 000 sheep sheared. Shearing costs $5 - Wool sold for $50 per coat - profit?
Pumpkin Farmer - 10 000 (kg or lbs) of pumpkin - sold for $3 per (kg or lbs) - 10% rotten - profit?
Market Stall - sold 50 lots of 3 for $10 (jam) and 22 individual jars for $4 - money taken?
Coconut Farmer - 20 per box-box sold for $10 per box-5000 coconuts - money taken?
4) SHARING
Name the object to be shared and the number of people involved.
The Grade 3 class at Mayberry State School have won a writing competition.
15 pizzas are being delivered to the class.
There are 8 slices in each pizza and 25 students in the class.
How many pieces can each student eat? How many slices will be left over?
This type of problem can be extended by adding more people.
If the Grade 3 students decide to share the pizzas with the Kindergarten class, how many pizzas will each student get? There are 21 students in the Kindergarten class. How many slices will be left over?
Here are some other sharing subjects to explore:
Take Away Store - hot chips (35 per cup), milk shakes (3/4 cup of milk per shake) - how much for 26 people?
Concert -toilet paper - 10 sheets per person, 100 sheets per roll, 3 000 people attending- how many rolls?
Dog Shelter - 1 cup of biscuits large dog, 3/4 cup for medium dog etc - how much for 10 big, 5 medium etc?
Jelly bean competition - Big jar took 12 bags of jelly beans - 124 beans in 1 bag - how many beans in total?
5) THEMES
These are a great way to explore a range of math skills. Choose one subject and choose questions that relate to that.
An obvious one is school:
At Collins State School there are 23 students in Kindergarten, 24 in Grade 1, 23 in Grade 2, 18 in Grade 3, 22 in Grade 4, 17 in Grade 5, 19 in Grade 6 and 22 in Grade 7. How many students are there in the whole school?
On the first day of each month the canteen cooks hamburgers. The Cook needs 1/10 of a kg of mince, 1/8 of a lettuce and 1/5 of a lettuce for each burger.
How much of each item does the Cook need to have on hand if every student (except 5) order a hamburger?
It takes Principal Jones 20 minutes to walk from his house to the school. If he walks to the school in the morning and home in the afternoon. How long will he walk in total in 1 school week? How long will he walk in total in a 9 week term?
The school day starts at 9:00 a.m. First break is from 11:00 a.m to 11:20 a.m. The second break is from 1:00 p.m to 1:40 p.m. The school day finishes at 3:00 p.m. How much time do the students spend in class in one day? How much time do the students spend in class in one week? How much time do the students spend on break in one day? How much time do the students spend on break in one week?
At the start of the year each student must buy:
8 exercise books ($2.40)
12 lead pencils (20 cents each)
1 ruler ($1.20)
1 calculator ($12.00)
1 set of colored pencils ($3.00)
1 art pad ($5.00)
How much does each student need to spend?
Other theme ideas could be a zoo or animal Park, an animal shelter, a local swimming pool, a shopping centre, a cinema, theme park, holiday resort, a local market, a pizza parlour, a pet store, or a toy shop.
Click here for a printable pdf version of these activities.
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