Variable Adventures: Solving Equations for 5th Graders

1. Sarah has some apples. If she buys 5 more apples and now has 12 apples, how many apples did she start with? (Let x be the number of apples Sarah started with.)

• 5

• 10

• 3

• 7

2. A book costs $15. If you have $x and you want to buy the book, how much more money do you need? (Write an equation to represent this situation.)

• x / 15

• 15 - x

• x - 15

• 15 + x

3. Tom has x marbles. If he gives away 8 marbles and now has 20 left, how many marbles did he have at first?

• 18

• 30

• 24

• 28

4. A box contains x chocolates. If you eat 3 chocolates and there are 10 left, how many chocolates were in the box originally?

• 15

• 12

• 13

• 8

5. Lisa is x years old. If her sister is 4 years younger than her, how old is her sister? (Write an equation to show this relationship.)

• x + 2

• x - 4

• x + 4

• x - 2

6. A car travels x miles in 2 hours. If it travels 60 miles in that time, what is the value of x?

• 60

• 120

• 90

• 30

7. There are x students in a class. If 5 more students join and the total becomes 30, how many students were there originally?

• 20

• 15

• 10

• 25

8. A rectangle has a length of 10 cm and a width of x cm. If the perimeter is 40 cm, what is the value of x? (Use the perimeter formula.)

• 20

• 10

• 5

• 15

9. A toy costs $x. If you have $25 and want to buy 3 toys, how much money will you have left after the purchase? (Write an equation to represent this.)

• 25 + 3x

• 25 - 3x

• 25 - x

• 3x - 25

10. If a train leaves at x o'clock and arrives at 3 PM after traveling for 2 hours, what time did the train leave? (Write an equation to find x.)

• 4 PM

• 1 PM

• 2 PM

• 12 PM