Addition & Subtraction Word Problems — Answer Key
Part A: Sort the Words
Sort each word or number into the correct category box.
1. Sort each word problem into the correct category.
Addition Problem
Owen scored 26 points then 38 more.A park has 43 ducks. 18 more arrive.Rosa collected 29 shells and found 44 more. Subtraction Problem
A garden has 34 roses. 17 are picked.Kira had 55 marbles. She lost 29.The shop sold 62 hats. 35 were returned. Words like "more," "arrive," and "found" tell us groups are growing, so those are addition problems. Words like "picked," "lost," and "returned" tell us things are being taken away, which means subtraction.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. Owen scored 26 points then 38 more. He scored 64 points in all.
Owen earned more points on top of what he already had, so we add: 26 + 38 = 64 total points scored.
2. Kira had 55 marbles. She lost 29. She has 26 marbles left.
Kira lost some marbles, so we subtract what was lost from what she started with: 55 − 29 = 26 marbles left.
3. When you combine two groups, you use addition.
Combining means putting two groups together to make one bigger group, and that is exactly what addition does.
4. When you take away from a group, you use subtraction.
Taking away means removing some items from a group, and subtraction is the operation that finds out how many are left after the removal.
5. In the problem '55 − 29,' the answer is called the difference.
In any subtraction problem the answer is called the difference because it shows how far apart the two numbers are; here 55 − 29 = 26 (the difference).
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. 26 + 38 = 64.
True False
True — adding the ones (6 + 8 = 14) and the tens (20 + 30 = 50) gives 50 + 14 = 64, so the equation is correct.
2. The word 'returned' signals addition.
True False
False — when hats are "returned" to a shop they are taken out of the sold pile, so "returned" usually points to subtraction in a sales problem.
3. 55 − 29 = 24.
True False
False — subtracting 29 from 55 gives 26, not 24, because 55 − 30 = 25 and adding back the extra 1 makes 26.
4. The word 'arrive' signals addition.
True False
True — when more ducks or people arrive, the group gets bigger, so "arrive" is a clue word that tells you to add.