In today’s world, math skills can come in handy at any moment! Practicing this week’s word problems will sharpen those skills and help you to be at the ready!
Find the word problem below that’s the right skill level for you, and give it a try. Take your time working it out — no peeking! When you feel you’ve found the answer, look below to check your solution against ours. Enjoy your fun math practice, and be sure to check back next week for more!
Lower Elementary:
Question: Liza sells 2 bunches of violets for 6 pennies. If each bunch has 6 violets, then how many violets cost a penny?
Upper Elementary:
Question: Henry teaches language lessons. His most expensive lessons cost 60 pounds, and his least expensive lessons cost 1 shilling. If 20 shillings make 1 pound, then what is the range in language lesson prices? Give your answer in pounds and shillings.
Middle School:
Question: Clara, Freddy, Henry, and Liza are all sitting together on a sofa. Clara is sitting next to Henry, and Freddy is not. Clara and Freddy are both between two people, and Liza is not. Liza is to the left of Henry. From left to right, in what order are they sitting?
Algebra and Up:
Question: It’s 9:31 am and Alfred is running late for his wedding. He runs 500 yards to catch a taxi, which takes him 12 miles to the church at an average rate of 30 miles per hour. If Alfred makes it to the church exactly on time at 10:00 am, then what is his average running speed per second from 9:31 am until he leaves in the taxi?
Have you worked out the answer to the word problem you chose? Take your time finding the solution, we know you can do it! When you’re ready to check your work, look below to find our solutions.
Lower Elementary:
Answer: 2 violets
Solution: If each bunch has 6 violets, then 2 bunches have 12 violets. If Liza sells 12 violets for 6 pennies, then she sells 2 for each penny.
Upper Elementary:
Answer: 59 pounds and 19 shillings
Solution: We find the range by subtracting the smallest value from the largest value. So, the range in prices is 60 pounds – 1 shilling. Since there are 20 shillings to a pound, we borrow 20 shillings from 60 pounds to set up our subtraction equation: 59 pounds and 20 shillings – 1 shilling = 59 pounds and 19 shillings.
Middle School:
Answer: Liza, Freddy, Clara, Henry
Solution: The first pieces of information we can use to eliminate seating options are who’s in between two people and who isn’t. We know that Clara and Freddy cannot be on the ends, and Liza must be on the far left
or right. Liza cannot be on the far right because she is to the left of Henry. So, since Liza must be on the far left and Clara and Freddy are in the middle, Henry must be on the far right. Since Clara is next to Henry, she must be third, which means Freddy must be second.
Algebra and Up:
Answer: 1 2/3 yards per second or 5 feet per second
Solution: The taxi travels 12 miles in 24 minutes, and 24 minutes before
10:00 am is 9:36 AM, 5 minutes after he starts running. He runs 500 yards
in 5 minutes, and since 5 minutes is 300 seconds, that means he runs 500
÷ 300 = 1 2/3 yards per second, or 5 feet per second.
