Multi-Step Word Problems

4th Grade MathMulti-Digit Operations4 pages

About this worksheet

Four multi-step word problems for 4th grade math, each built around Common Core 4.OA.3: write an equation with a letter for the unknown, solve, and check that the answer makes sense. A field trip with 74 students and 14 adults forces a remainder decision about vans that carry 8. A carrot harvest asks for an estimate by rounding before the exact total. Maya's $85 at the book fair becomes one equation with m, and Mr. Santos's 150 paint tubes get a two-step scaffold. Worked answers follow the last problem.

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$Multi-Step Word Problems: Multi-Digit Operations - page 1$

$Multi-Step Word Problems: Multi-Digit Operations - page 2$

$Multi-Step Word Problems: Multi-Digit Operations - page 3$

$Multi-Step Word Problems: Multi-Digit Operations - page 4$

Curriculum objectives covered

4.OA.3

“Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.”

Every problem asks for an equation with a letter: t, c and m appear by name. Problem 1b makes students interpret a remainder, and Problem 2 pairs a rounding estimate with the exact answer.

What's inside this worksheet

Problem 1: The School Field Trip

74 students and 14 adults need vans that carry 8 passengers. Students write an equation with the letter t for the total, then decide what the leftover riders mean for the van count, since the sheet insists no one can be left behind.

Problem 2: The School Garden Harvest

The club picked 6 boxes of 24 carrots plus 48 loose ones. Part a rounds 24 to the nearest ten for an estimate, part b solves for c exactly, and part c asks whether the two answers sit close enough to trust.

Problem 3: Book Fair Bundles

Maya starts with $85 and buys 4 adventure books at $9 and 2 bookmarks at $3. One equation with the letter m has to capture the whole spend before students solve it step by step.

Problem 4: Art Club Supplies

Mr. Santos keeps 18 of his 150 paint tubes for demonstrations and divides the rest among 6 worktables. A two-step table separates the subtraction from the division, and the final answer needs correct units.

How teachers use it

Problem-solving block

One problem per day across a week works better than all four at once. Start with the field trip, since the round-up remainder sparks the best arguments.

Guided groups

Use the Problem 4 table with the group that can compute but loses track of steps. The Step 1 and Step 2 boxes do the organizing for them.

Test prep

4.OA.3 items on state tests look exactly like Problem 3. Have students underline what each number stands for before they touch the equation.

More 4th Grade Math worksheets

Fractions and Decimals Measurement and Data Geometry Factors and Multiples

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