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Word Problems

Browse Middle School Word Problems
Stars indicate particularly interesting answers or good places to begin browsing.

Selected answers to common questions:
    Mixture problems.

Find the Numbers [08/28/2003]

Five Bags of Nuts [04/17/2002]

Flipping for Profit [01/19/2014]

Football Scoring [11/24/2002]


Formulas and Missing Quantities [10/09/2004]


Fractions and School Enrollments [02/26/2003]
The sum of 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 of the enrollment of the Business School is exactly the enrollment of the Language School. The sum of 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, and 1/8 of the enrollment of the Business School is exactly that of the Design School. What are the enrollments of these three schools, assuming no school has more than 1000 pupils?

Fractions: Sheets of Paper Left [08/07/1997]
An office got a new copier and was given 800 sheets of paper. On the first day they used 1/3 of the paper...


From Word Problems to Equations [01/28/1999]

Garden Areas [8/14/1996]
Was the second garden larger or smaller?

Getting the Job Done [12/17/1996]

Giraffe Height [9/9/1996]
A newborn giraffe 6 feet tall is 1/3 the height of an adult giraffe. How much taller is the adult?

Girls and Coins [01/29/2001]

Golf Balls [04/13/1997]
Angie bought some golf balls for $14. If each ball had cost $0.25 less...



Handcar and Freight Train [12/6/1994]
A handcar sets out from Chicago to Detroit at an average speed of 10mph. Four hours later a freight train starts a run from Detroit to Chicago at an average speed of 20 mph. Assuming the rail distance between the two cities is 400 miles, which will be closer to Chicago when they meet?

Helicopters Over a Traffic Jam [09/23/1998]

Hines Parkway Problem [2/4/1995]
What is the average speed of cars on Hines Parkway given the following information?

Hot Air Balloons [12/25/1996]

How Do You Figure Out the Equations for Word Problems? [04/09/2006]
I can solve equations fine, but whenever I try a word problem, I can't figure out how to come up with the equation I need to solve. How do you turn a word problem into the right equation?

How Far Did the Plane Fly? [01/23/2003]
A plane flew 440km/h to its destination. It then flew 500km/h back. If the whole trip took 9 hours, how far did the plane fly?

How Fast Did Dan Drive? [8/24/1996]
It takes Kay 20 minutes to drive to work at 45 mph. Two minutes after she left home this morning, her husband Dan started out...




How Many Apples? [09/19/2002]
How many apples did John get from his boss?


How Many Barbies [08/11/1999]
How many different Barbies can I make if I can choose from 4 skin colors, 3 eye colors, 4 hairstyles, and 6 hair colors?

How Many Boys Are in the Seventh Grade? [05/20/1999]
In a seventh grade of 360 students, 80 percent can swim...


How Many Days in the Month? [01/22/2004]
There were eleven days of rain one month in Boston. Of the remaining days, two-fifths were sunny, one-fourth were cloudy, and it snowed the other seven days. How many days were in the month?

How Many Different Combinations of Shares Could She Buy? [03/05/1998]
Mrs. Ridero has $240 that she wants to invest in three companies traded on the stock market ...

How Many Freshmen Originally Tried Out? [01/15/2003]
Some freshmen were trying out for the school track team... The 10 who remained became the track team.

How Many Men, Women, and Children at the Circus? [10/18/2000]
A circus performance is witnessed by 120 people who have paid $120. The men paid $5, the women $2, and the children $.10 each. How many of each went to the circus? A solution without algebra.



How Many Oxen Can Be Fed? [6/28/1996]
We have three pastures with grass of identical height, density, and growth rate...


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