Two-Step Math Word Problems

Ages 11–13

1. 🛒 Shopping

Maya buys 4 notebooks that cost £2.75 each and pays with a £20 note.
How much change does she receive?

2. 🏃 Sports

At a school cross-country race, Tom runs the first 3 km in 18 minutes and then runs a further 5 km at the same pace.
How long does the whole race take him in minutes?

3. 🍕 Food

A restaurant cuts each large pizza into 8 slices. At a party, 6 large pizzas are ordered and 15 slices are left over at the end.
How many slices were eaten?

4. 💰 Saving Money

Priya earns £9.50 per hour working at a café. She works 6 hours on Saturday and wants to buy a pair of trainers costing £65.
How much money does she have left after buying the trainers?

5. 🌡️ Science Class

At 7:00 am the temperature outside is −4°C. By noon it has risen by 11°C, and then by 3:00 pm it drops by 3°C.
What is the temperature at 3:00 pm?

Answer Key

1. 🛒 Shopping — Worked Solution

Step 1: Find the total cost of the notebooks.
4 × £2.75 = £11.00

Step 2: Subtract from £20 to find the change.
£20.00 − £11.00 = £9.00

✅ Maya receives £9.00 change.

2. 🏃 Sports — Worked Solution

Step 1: Find Tom's pace (minutes per km).
18 minutes ÷ 3 km = 6 minutes per km

Step 2: Find the total time for the whole race (3 + 5 = 8 km).
8 × 6 = 48 minutes

✅ The whole race takes Tom 48 minutes.

3. 🍕 Food — Worked Solution

Step 1: Find the total number of slices.
6 × 8 = 48 slices

Step 2: Subtract the leftover slices to find how many were eaten.
48 − 15 = 33 slices

✅ 33 slices were eaten.

4. 💰 Saving Money — Worked Solution

Step 1: Calculate Priya's total earnings.
£9.50 × 6 = £57.00

Step 2: Subtract the cost of the trainers.
£57.00 − £65.00 = −£8.00

✅ Priya does not have enough money — she is £8.00 short of buying the trainers.

5. 🌡️ Science Class — Worked Solution

Step 1: Find the temperature at noon after the rise of 11°C.
−4 + 11 = 7°C

Step 2: Apply the afternoon drop of 3°C.
7 − 3 = 4°C

✅ The temperature at 3:00 pm is 4°C.