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Learn Math Word Problems

Turn a paragraph of words into an equation, then solve it.

Free to start. Built from a single prompt. No credit card.

Word problems ask you to find the math hidden inside a story: a train leaving a station, a recipe to scale, ages that add up, a sale price. Most students know the arithmetic or algebra needed; the hard part is translating the words. A reliable routine helps: understand what is being asked, represent it with a diagram or table, write an equation, solve it, and check the answer against the story. Common types include rate and distance, work, mixtures, ages, percents and consecutive numbers. Learnr builds a word problems course at your level, from early grades to algebra, and teaches the routine in short interactive lessons.

How to learn Math Word Problems, step by step

Follow one routine every time. George Polya's four steps work well: understand the problem, make a plan, carry it out, and look back. Underline the question itself before anything else so you know what the answer should be.
Build a translation dictionary. Write pairs like "of" meaning multiply, "per" meaning divide and "5 less than x" meaning x - 5, not 5 - x. The order in "less than" phrases trips up students at every level.
Draw before you calculate. Use bar models for younger learners: if Sam has 3 times as many stickers as Ana and together they have 48, draw 4 equal bars, so each bar is 12 and Sam has 36.
Organize rate and mixture problems in tables. For distance problems, use columns for rate, time and distance, with distance = rate times time. Two cars leaving at 40 and 60 miles per hour in opposite directions are 200 miles apart after 2 hours.
Check the answer against the story. Plug your answer back into the words, not just the equation, and ask whether it is sensible. A negative number of people or a 3-hour walk to the mailbox signals a setup error.
Do two or three problems a day. Variety matters more than volume. A short daily mix in a Learnr course, with a streak to keep you going, exposes you to enough problem types that setups start to feel familiar.

What you'll learn

Identify what a problem asks and which facts matter
Translate phrases like "5 less than a number" into expressions
Use bar models, tables and diagrams to represent problems
Solve rate, work, mixture, age and percent problems
Check answers for reasonableness and units

What's inside your Math Word Problems course

A sample path Learnr builds for Math Word Problems. Your real course adapts to your goal and level.

1. A four-step problem-solving routine
2. Translating words into math
3. Bar models, tables and diagrams
4. Arithmetic word problems: money, time and measurement
5. Algebra word problems: rates, work, mixtures and ages
6. Multi-step problems and checking answers

How long does it take to learn Math Word Problems?

Learning a dependable routine takes a few weeks of practice, about 2 to 4 hours a week. Becoming quick at algebra-level word problems usually takes 2 to 3 months of steady practice, depending on how strong the underlying arithmetic and algebra are.

What you need before you start

The math the problems use: arithmetic for younger learners, and linear equations for algebra word problems. Reading comprehension matters too, so read problems aloud with children.

Common mistakes to avoid

Hunting for keywords and grabbing numbers instead of understanding the situation. "Altogether" does not always mean add, so picture the story first.
Reversing "less than" phrases, writing "7 less than a number" as 7 - n instead of n - 7.
Answering a different question than the one asked, such as giving Ana's amount when the problem asked for Sam's. Reread the question before writing the final answer.

How Learnr builds your course

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Math Word Problems questions, answered

How can I help my child with word problems?

Read the problem together, ask your child to retell it in their own words, and draw a picture or bar model before any calculating. Ask whether the answer makes sense in the story.

Why are word problems harder than regular math problems?

They add reading, deciding which information matters and choosing an operation on top of the calculation itself. With a routine and diagrams, that extra step becomes manageable.