Find the operation
“This word often means you’re putting two groups together.”
What is addition?
“Mia has 15 apples. Her friend gives her 7 more. How many apples does she have now?”
What does 15 + 7 =?
“A bus has 24 children on it. At the next stop, 16 more get on. How many are on the bus in all?”
What is addition: 24 + 16 =?
“The library got 45 new books this month and 35 last month. How many books in all?”
“36 apples need to be packed into bags of 6. How many bags are needed?”
What is 36 / 6 =?
Answer: 6 apple bags.
“This word means you’re finding how many are left.”
What is subtraction?
“Liam had 25 pencils. He gave 8 to his friends. How many does he have left?”
What does 25 - 8 =?
“A farmer had 40 goats. He sold 15. How many goats remain?”
What is subtraction: 40 - 15 =?
A baker baked 92 muffins in the morning. By noon, customers had bought 65 of them. How many muffins are left?
What is 92 - 65 = 27?
“48 pencils are shared equally among 12 students. How many pencils does each student get?”
What is 48 / 12 =?
Answer 4 pencils per student.
“If a problem says ‘groups of,’ what operation should you do?”
What is multiplication?
“There are 4 boxes with 6 muffins each. How many muffins total?”
What does 4 x 6 =?
“Each ticket costs $3. How much for 5 tickets?”
What is multiplication: 3 x 5 =?
Lena saved $350 for a bike. She spent $127 on a smaller bike instead. How much money does she have left?
What is $350 - $127 =$223
“A farmer has 72 eggs. He puts 9 eggs in each carton. How many cartons does he need?”
What is 72 / 9 =?
Answer 8 cartons.
“If a problem says ‘how many more,’ what operation do you do?”
What is subtraction?
“There are 12 red balloons and 18 blue balloons. How many balloons total?”
What does 12 + 18 =?
“A garden has 8 rows of 9 flowers. How many flowers total?”
What is multiplication: 8 x 9 =?
A farmer plants 6 rows of corn with 14 plants in each row. How many corn plants did the farmer plant?
What is 6 x 14 = 84?
“A school library has 120 books. If each shelf holds 15 books, how many shelves are filled?”
What is 120 / 15 =?
Answer 8 shelves.
“When a problem says ‘each’ and gives a number, you probably need to do this.”
What is multiplication?
“Maya baked 36 cookies. She ate 6 and gave 10 away. How many cookies are left?”
What does 36 - 6 - 10 =?
“A school had 500 students last year and 450 this year. How many fewer students are there now?”
What is subtraction: 500 - 450 =?
Each box of crayons holds 24 crayons. If a teacher orders 5 boxes, how many crayons does she have in total?
A bakery made 144 muffins. They want to put them into boxes with 12 muffins in each box. How many boxes will they need?
What is 144 / 12 =?
Answer 12 boxes.