Solve Two-Step Word Problems - 2nd Grade Math

1. What equation matches: $28$ red balloons and $34$ blue balloons; how many balloons total?

   $28 + 34 = n$. Addition combines two groups into one total.

2. What is $n$ in $46 - 17 = n$?

   $n = 29$. Subtract the difference from Mia's total.

3. What is $n$ in $46 - 29 = n$?

   $n = 17$. Calculate the difference between the two amounts.

4. What is $n$? "A box had $90$ pencils. Now it has $67$. How many were taken out?"

   $23$. Find how many removed: $90 - 67 = 23$ pencils.

5. What equation matches: "Mia has $48$ beads. She gives away $19$. How many are left?"

   $48 - 19 = n$. "Gives away" means subtract from what she started with.

6. What equation matches: "There are $63$ apples. $25$ are green. How many are not green?"

   $63 - 25 = n$. Subtract green apples from total to find non-green ones.

7. Which operation finds the total in "putting together" problems: addition or subtraction?

   Addition. "Putting together" combines amounts to find a total.

8. What is $x$ in $x - 14 = 25$?

   $x = 39$. Add 14 to both sides to find the original amount.

9. What is $n$ in $n + 25 = 67$?

   $n = 42$. Subtract $25$ from $67$ to find the unknown.

10. What is $x$ in $x + 34 = 62$?

    $x = 28$. Subtract 34 from both sides to find red balloons.

11. What is $x$ in $28 + x = 62$?

    $x = 34$. Subtract 28 from both sides to find blue balloons.

12. What is $n$? Two-step: $36$ birds, $14$ fly away, then $9$ more arrive.

    $n = 31$. First subtract $14$, then add $9$: $36 - 14 + 9 = 31$.

13. What equation matches: There are $62$ balloons total, $x$ are red, and $34$ are blue. Find $x$.

    $x + 34 = 62$. Unknown red plus blue balloons equals the total.

14. What is $n$ in $23 + 15 = n$?

    $n = 38$. Add $23 + 15$ to find the total.

15. What is $n$ in $52 - 19 = n$?

    $n = 33$. Subtract $52 - 19$ to find what remains.

16. What is $n$? "A shelf has $64$ books. $20$ are removed. Then $13$ are added. How many now?"

    $57$. Start with $64$, subtract $20$ to get $44$, add $13$ to get $57$.

17. What equation matches: Sam has $n$ marbles, gives away $12$, and has $29$ left?

    $n - 12 = 29$. Unknown minus known equals remainder.

18. What equation matches: Noah has $25$; Lily has $7$ fewer; how many does Lily have?

    $25 - 7 = n$. Subtract to find how many fewer Lily has.

19. Which equation shows an unknown in the start position for "taking from": $n - 14 = 52$ or $52 - 14 = n$?

    $n - 14 = 52$. Unknown start minus amount taken equals result.

20. What is $n$ in $41 - n = 29$?

    $n = 12$. Find what was subtracted: $41 - 29 = 12$.

21. What equation matches: Lily has $18$; she has $7$ fewer than Noah; how many does Noah have?

    $18 = n - 7$. Lily's amount equals Noah's minus $7$.

22. What equation matches: Lina has $23$ stickers and gets $15$ more. How many now?

    $23 + 15 = n$. Adding to find the total after getting more stickers.

23. What equation matches: A jar had $41$ cookies, now has $x$ after $9$ were eaten. Find $x$.

    $41 - 9 = x$. Subtract the eaten cookies from the original amount.

24. What equation matches: A jar had $x$ cookies, $14$ were eaten, $25$ are left. Find $x$.

    $x - 14 = 25$. The unknown starting amount minus 14 equals what's left.

25. What equation matches: Mia has $46$ beads, Noah has $29$. How many more beads does Mia have?

    $46 - 29 = n$. Subtract to compare and find the difference.

26. What equation matches: "$28$ red marbles and $17$ blue marbles. How many marbles in all?"

    $28 + 17 = n$. Combine red and blue marbles to find the total.

27. What is $n$ in $18 = n - 7$?

    $n = 25$. Add $7$ to $18$ to find Noah's total.

28. What is $x$ in $41 - 9 = x$?

    $x = 32$. Calculate $41 - 9$ to find the remaining cookies.

29. What equation matches: There are $28$ red and $34$ blue balloons. How many balloons total?

    $28 + 34 = n$. Add the two groups to find the total.

30. What is $n$? "$27$ students are on the bus. $18$ more get on. Then $9$ get off. How many now?"

    $36$. Start with $27$, add $18$ to get $45$, subtract $9$ to get $36$.

31. What is $n$ in $28 + 34 = n$?

    $n = 62$. Add $28 + 34$ to find the sum.

32. What is $n$? Compare: Ava has $47$ cards; Ben has $n$ cards; Ben has $9$ more than Ava.

    $n = 56$. Ben has $9$ more: $47 + 9 = 56$.

33. What is $n$ in $n - 12 = 29$?

    $n = 41$. Add $12$ to $29$ to find the original amount.

34. What is $n$ in $25 - 7 = n$?

    $n = 18$. Calculate $25 - 7$ to find Lily's amount.

35. What equation matches: Sam has $41$ marbles; after giving away $n$, he has $29$ left?

    $41 - n = 29$. Start minus unknown equals remainder.

36. What equation matches: "Liam has $23$ stickers. He gets $15$ more. How many now?"

    $23 + 15 = n$. "Has" plus "gets more" means add to find the total.

37. What is $n$? "Noah has $32$ cards. Sofia has $9$ more. How many does Sofia have?"

    $41$. "9 more" means add: $32 + 9 = 41$.

38. What is $n$? "$39$ cookies are shared. $22$ are eaten. The rest are packed equally into $1$ box. How many packed?"

    $17$. Cookies left after eating: $39 - 22 = 17$.

39. What is $n$ in $n - 18 = 34$?

    $52$. Add $18$ to both sides: $n = 34 + 18 = 52$.

40. What is $n$? "A jar has $58$ coins. After adding some, it has $73$. How many were added?"

    $15$. Find the difference: $73 - 58 = 15$ coins added.

41. What is $x$ in $x + 12 = 39$?

    $x = 27$. Subtract 12 from both sides to isolate $x$.

42. What is $n$ in $50 - 18 = n$?

    $n = 32$. Subtract to find the difference.

43. What equation matches: $67$ books total, $n$ are fiction, $25$ are nonfiction?

    $n + 25 = 67$. Unknown plus known equals total.

44. What is the unknown in a compare statement: "A has $9$ more than B" written as an equation?

    $A = B + 9$. "A has 9 more than B" means A equals B plus 9.

45. What is $n$? "There are $45$ balloons. $n$ are red and $16$ are blue. How many are red?"

    $29$. Total minus blue equals red: $45 - 16 = 29$.

46. What equation matches: Sam has $x$ marbles, gets $12$, now has $39$. Find $x$.

    $x + 12 = 39$. The unknown starting amount plus 12 equals the total.

47. What equation matches: There are $62$ balloons total, $28$ are red, and $x$ are blue. Find $x$.

    $28 + x = 62$. Red balloons plus unknown blue equals the total.

48. What equation matches: There are $52$ apples; $19$ are eaten; how many are left?

    $52 - 19 = n$. Subtraction equation shows taking away from a total.

49. What equation matches: Mia has $46$ beads, which is $17$ more than Noah. How many beads does Noah have?

    $46 - 17 = n$. Mia's beads minus the difference equals Noah's beads.

50. What is $n$? "Sofia has $41$ cards. Noah has $9$ fewer. How many does Noah have?"

    $32$. "9 fewer" means subtract: $41 - 9 = 32$.

51. Which operation finds "how many left" in "taking from" problems: addition or subtraction?

    Subtraction. "Taking from" removes some amount from the original.

52. What is $n$? "Ben has $50$ points. He needs $n$ more to reach $80$ points. How many more?"

    $30$. Find the gap to reach goal: $80 - 50 = 30$ points.

53. What is $n$ in $36 + n = 50$?

    $14$. Find what number added to $36$ equals $50$: $50 - 36 = 14$.

54. What equation matches: There were $50$ birds, $18$ flew away. How many are left?

    $50 - 18 = n$. Subtract to find how many remain after some flew away.

55. What equation matches: Mia has $23$ stickers and gets $15$ more; how many now?

    $23 + 15 = n$. Addition equation represents combining two amounts.

56. What is $n$ in $72 - n = 45$?

    $27$. Find what subtracted from $72$ equals $45$: $72 - 45 = 27$.

57. What is $n$? Compare: Ben has $56$ cards; Ava has $47$; how many more does Ben have?

    $n = 9$. Find the difference: $56 - 47 = 9$.

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