Example 1 · level 1 — a gentle start
Finn has 10 cards and gets 1 more, then gives away 10. How many cards does Finn have now?
- 2
- 11
- 1
- 21
Answer: 1 — 10 + 1 − 10 = 1.
11+ word problems questions
Word problems comes up in the maths paper of every major 11+ format. Here is what the questions look like, the method that works under time pressure, and five worked examples with the full reasoning, from a gentle start to a hard paper.
Maths · examined by GL and CEM · 5 worked examples
What your child needs to know
- Turn the story into numbers. Underline what you START with.
- Then do each action in order: add what you get, subtract what you give away.
Where marks get lost: Example: 8, get 6 → 14, give 4 → 10. The answer is 10.
Worked examples
Every question below is generated by the same engine your child practises on, and every answer is derived by our checker rather than written by hand — which is why we can put them on a public page at all.
Example 2 · level 2 — typical of early practice
Finn has 10 stickers and gets 2 more, then gives away 9. How many stickers does Finn have now?
- 12
- 21
- 4
- 3
Answer: 3 — 10 + 2 − 9 = 3.
Example 3 · level 3 — standard paper difficulty
Aisha has 15 sweets and gets 15 more, then gives away 9. How many sweets does Aisha have now?
- 30
- 21
- 22
- 39
Answer: 21 — 15 + 15 − 9 = 21.
Example 4 · level 4 — a harder paper
Ben has 64 marbles and gets 12 more, then gives away 41. How many marbles does Ben have now?
- 35
- 76
- 117
- 36
Answer: 35 — 64 + 12 − 41 = 35.
Example 5 · level 5 — the level that separates candidates
Chloe has 164 sweets and gets 134 more, then gives away 290. How many sweets does Chloe have now?
- 298
- 588
- 8
- 9
Answer: 8 — 164 + 134 − 290 = 8.
How to practise this at home
- Work in short, frequent sessions. Ten minutes daily beats an hour at the weekend, because the recall gap is what builds memory.
- Insist on written working, even for questions your child can do in their head — under exam pressure the method is what survives.
- When an answer is wrong, ask them to explain their reasoning before you correct it. The error is almost always in one step, not the whole approach.
Practise word problems with a tutor that explains
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