3rd Grade One-Step Equations with Variables Worksheet: Times and Divide
A letter can stand for a number we do not know yet. This 3rd grade one-step equations with variables worksheet has six equations, labeled a to f, in two columns. Each one uses a single multiplication or division, and a letter replaces one number. Your child finds the value of that letter. Some letters are on the left, as in a × 5 = 10. Others are on the right, as in 8 = 4 × z. A smiling green frog peeks out from a clump of grass on the right. Page two solves each equation in a few lines, like a worked example.
Six letters, six values
The answers are a = 2, t = 125, P = 14, z = 2, a = 4 and b = 45. Four equations hide a factor, so a times table gives the answer: 3 × 4 = 12, so a = 4. Two equations hide the dividend, so your child multiplies: P ÷ 7 = 2 means P = 2 × 7 = 14.
Item b goes far: t ÷ 5 = 25 gives t = 125, which is beyond the products within 100 of third grade. Item f is not really a puzzle, because b = 15 × 3 only asks for 45. Note also that the same letter a is used in items a and e with two different values. So explain that each equation starts fresh.
At the table: say it as a sentence
Turn each equation into words before solving it. For example, "a × 5 = 10" becomes "what number times 5 makes 10?" Then your child writes the missing number. Afterward, they put it back in the equation to check it.
Page two uses crossed-out numbers and a fraction line to show "divide both sides", as in t × 5 over 5. That notation belongs to later grades. So show a simpler check instead: 125 ÷ 5 = 25. Also, item c writes a capital P in the question and a small p in the key, and item f writes a capital X.
After the page: the mystery bag
Put 12 coins in a bag and say: "4 bags like this hold 48 coins. How many coins are in one bag?" Your child writes 4 × n = 48 and finds n = 12. Then swap roles and invent a new bag. In the end, check the six values against the answer key on page two.
About this one-step equations with variables page and its answer key
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