Why Do Students Struggle With Maths Word Problems? (And How to Solve Them)

Maths word problems can be challenging because they require more than knowing how to add, subtract, multiply or divide. Students must understand what a question is asking, identify the relevant information and decide which strategies to use.

Even students who perform well in straightforward calculations can struggle when mathematical concepts are presented in unfamiliar situations. Learning a consistent approach can help make these problems easier to understand and solve.

1. Understand What the Question Is Asking

Consider this problem:

Emma is organising a birthday party for 8 friends. She has a budget of $120. A venue costs $45, and she orders a pizza for each guest at $6.50 per pizza. How much money will she have left after paying for the venue and pizzas?

Rather than calculating immediately, students should first identify what they need to find: the money remaining after both expenses.

• Cost of pizzas: (8 times $6.50 = $52)

• Total expenses: ($45 + $52 = $97)

• Money remaining: ($120 - $97 = $23)
  

Answer: Emma will have $23 left.

Breaking the question into smaller parts helps students understand the order of the calculations and avoid missing important steps.

2. Identify the Important Information

Not every number in a word problem is necessarily needed to answer the question. For example:

Noah is planning a day out. His family drives 84 km to a wildlife park and another 36 km to a nearby beach. The car uses 1 litre of petrol for every 12 km, and petrol costs $1.90 per litre. They spend 3 hours at the wildlife park and 2 hours at the beach. How much does the petrol cost for the journey between the two destinations?

The time spent at each location is not relevant to the petrol cost. Students need to focus on the distance between the wildlife park and beach.

• Distance between destinations: 36 km

• Petrol used: (36 div 12 = 3) litres

• Petrol cost: (3 times $1.90 = $5.70)
  

Answer: The journey costs $5.70 in petrol.

Learning to distinguish relevant from irrelevant information is an important problem-solving skill.

3. Choose the Correct Mathematical Operations

Some questions involve percentages, fractions or multiple calculations, so students must understand what the numbers represent rather than rely on keywords alone.

An online shop sells a backpack for $80. It offers a 25% discount, but delivery costs an additional $7.50. If Mia has a budget of $70, can she afford the backpack including delivery?

First, calculate the discount:

• Discount: (25% times $80 = 1/4 of $80 = $20)

• Discounted price: ($80 - $20 = $60)

• Total including delivery: ($60 + $7.50 = $67.50)
  

Mia has $70, so:

($70 - $67.50 = $2.50)

Answer: Yes, Mia can afford it and will have $2.50 left.

This example shows why students need to understand the relationship between percentages, money and addition rather than treating each concept separately.

4. Break Complicated Problems Into Smaller Steps

Longer word problems often become easier when students organise the information and solve one part at a time.

A school is organising a fundraising event. It sells 145 tickets at $8 each. The venue costs $350, and decorations cost $85. The school also spends 15% of its ticket revenue on refreshments. How much money does the school raise after these expenses?

Start by calculating the total ticket revenue:

• Ticket revenue: (145 times $8 = $1,160)

• Refreshment costs: (15% times $1,160 = $174)

• Other expenses: ($350 + $85 = $435)

• Total expenses: ($174 + $435 = $609)

• Money raised: ($1,160 - $609 = $551)
  

Answer: The school raises $551 after expenses.

Writing down each step reduces the chance of forgetting an expense or applying a percentage to the wrong amount.

Building Confidence With Maths

The key to solving word problems is not simply memorising formulas. Students need to practise understanding questions, organising information, choosing suitable operations and checking their reasoning.

At Primo Tutoring, face-to-face Maths lessons for Years 3–8 help students strengthen their foundations and develop practical problem-solving strategies. With regular practice and guidance, students can become more confident tackling unfamiliar questions.

For more information, visit www.primotutoring.com.au and contact info@primotutoring.com.au.