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Word problems III

Lesson

Worded problems

When we have a written problem, we can look for words that give us clues. Some words that could be clues for addition include:

  • more 
  • longer
  • later
  • bought
  • joined

For subtraction, words might be:

  • less
  • shorter
  • earlier
  • sold
  • left

In this video, we search for clues in the words, and solve problems with more than one part.

Remember!

As long as we follow the order of operations, we can solve some parts of our problem first. 

Examples

Question 1

It took Caitlin $268$268 seconds to finish a race. Iain finished the race $2$2 seconds quicker than Caitlin, and Victoria finished the race $4$4 seconds quicker than Iain.

How many seconds did it take Victoria to finish the race?

QUESTION 2

Sandy books a hotel room for $£90$£90, but then has to cancel the booking. The hotel charges a $£10$£10 administration fee, a $£30$£30 booking fee and a $£40$£40 cancellation fee. The hotel refunds the rest of the price to Sandy.

How much does Sandy receive as a refund?

QUESTION 3

Four friends are picking fruit in an orchard. Tricia picks $16$16 apples, Ryan picks $29$29 peaches, James picks $23$23 pears and Laura picks $15$15 plums.

How many pieces of fruit were picked in total?

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