Math Drills
Difference Word Problems Review
4Word Problems
You can hand this out in class or share it on social media for free. Usage rules
What this worksheet covers
Situations built on the words fewer and more are sorted according to whether they call for addition or subtraction. For fewer-than problems and for more-than problems alike, both the cases that turn into addition and the cases that turn into subtraction are covered.
Read more
The most common error is choosing the operation from the wording alone: subtract whenever it says 3 fewer, add whenever it says more. Which quantity is actually being asked for has been missed, and the answer lands on the wrong side by exactly the difference. Drawing the situation makes the mix-up visible.
In this unit, words that mean fewer or more decide which expression to write, and the sense of judging larger from smaller sharpened in 2-Digit Subtraction becomes the clue. This way of reading a problem is put to use again later in Order and Position Word Problems, when finding a position or a number of people.
- 'Fewer' Word Problems · Addition1 question
- 'Fewer' Word Problems · Subtraction1 question
- 'More' Word Problems · Addition2 questions
- 'More' Word Problems · Subtraction2 questions
Questions & answers
Problems and answers on this worksheet
These are the problems in “Difference Word Problems”, shown with their answers.
(1)At the summer park, there are 75 cicadas. There are 49 fewer cicadas than beetles. How many beetles are there? Answer □
Answer: 124beetles
(2)On the roof, 41 birds are perched. There are 15 fewer chicks than birds. How many chicks are there? Answer □
Answer: 26chicks
(3)Grace has 63 origami sheets. There are 29 more stickers than origami sheets. How many stickers are there? Answer □
Answer: 92stickers
(4)In the pencil case, there are 19 erasers. There are 25 more pencils than erasers. How many pencils are there? Answer □
Answer: 44pencils
(5)At the greengrocer, 41 apples are lined up. There are 16 more apples than pears. How many pears are there? Answer □
Answer: 25pears
(6)In Ethan's pencil case, there are 38 pencils. There are 19 more pencils than erasers. How many erasers are there? Answer □
Answer: 19erasers
