Reading and Drawing Bar Models for Word Problems
Use part-whole and comparison bars to solve story problems
Reading and Drawing Bar Models for Word Problems
Use part-whole and comparison bars to solve story problems
Math - Grade 2-3
- 1
Mia has 12 red stickers and 7 blue stickers. Draw a bar model to show the two parts. How many stickers does Mia have in all?
This is a part-whole problem. Add the two parts to find the whole.
Mia has 19 stickers in all because 12 + 7 = 19. The bar model should show two parts labeled 12 and 7, with the total labeled 19. - 2
A bar model has a total of 25. One part is 9. The other part is missing. What is the missing part?
The missing part is 16 because 25 - 9 = 16. The two parts, 9 and 16, make the total 25. - 3
Leo read 18 pages on Monday and 14 pages on Tuesday. Use a bar model to find how many pages he read altogether.
Altogether means you need to combine the parts.
Leo read 32 pages altogether because 18 + 14 = 32. The bar model should show two parts labeled 18 and 14 with a total of 32. - 4
Nora has 30 crayons. She gives 8 crayons to her brother. Draw a bar model to show the whole and the part she gave away. How many crayons does Nora have left?
The whole is 30. One part is 8, and you need to find the other part.
Nora has 22 crayons left because 30 - 8 = 22. The bar model should show 30 as the whole, 8 as one part, and 22 as the missing part. - 5
Read the bar model: One bar is labeled Sam: 16. A longer bar is labeled Ava: 23. How many more shells does Ava have than Sam?
Ava has 7 more shells than Sam because 23 - 16 = 7. In a comparison bar model, the extra length shows the difference. - 6
Ben has 11 toy cars. Max has 6 more toy cars than Ben. Draw a comparison bar model. How many toy cars does Max have?
If Max has more than Ben, start with Ben's number and add the extra amount.
Max has 17 toy cars because 11 + 6 = 17. The bar model should show Ben's bar as 11 and Max's bar as 11 plus 6 more. - 7
There are 21 apples in a basket. 13 apples are green, and the rest are red. Use a bar model to find how many apples are red.
The total number of apples is the whole.
There are 8 red apples because 21 - 13 = 8. The bar model should show the whole as 21 and the parts as 13 green apples and 8 red apples. - 8
A class has 15 girls and 12 boys. Draw a part-whole bar model. How many students are in the class?
There are 27 students in the class because 15 + 12 = 27. The bar model should show 15 and 12 as parts of one whole. - 9
Read the bar model: The whole is 40. One part is 18 books read. The missing part is books not read yet. How many books are not read yet?
Subtract the part you know from the whole.
There are 22 books not read yet because 40 - 18 = 22. The missing part and 18 make the whole of 40. - 10
Ella collected 24 leaves. Jay collected 9 fewer leaves than Ella. Draw a comparison bar model. How many leaves did Jay collect?
Fewer means Jay's number is smaller than Ella's number.
Jay collected 15 leaves because 24 - 9 = 15. The bar model should show Ella's bar as 24 and Jay's bar as 9 less. - 11
A soccer team scored 10 goals in the first half and some more goals in the second half. They scored 18 goals in all. Use a bar model to find how many goals they scored in the second half.
The team scored 8 goals in the second half because 18 - 10 = 8. The bar model should show 18 as the whole, 10 as one part, and 8 as the other part. - 12
Liam has 27 marbles. Olivia has 19 marbles. Use a comparison bar model to find how many more marbles Liam has than Olivia.
To compare two amounts, subtract the smaller number from the larger number.
Liam has 8 more marbles than Olivia because 27 - 19 = 8. The difference between the two bars is 8 marbles.