Grade 2 Subtraction Word Problems
Grade 2 subtraction word problems sheet: 8 problems on .
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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Read each problem carefully. Show your work, then write your answer on the line.
- 1.Ivan had 22 stickers on a chart and used 19 on a poster. How many stickers are left on the chart?
- 2.A carton holds 27 marbles. Quinn puts 11 more marbles in it. How many marbles are in the carton now?
- 3.A store had 37 oranges in stock and sold 27 of them. How many oranges are left?
- 4.A tank holds 29 liters of water. 21 liters leaked out. How many liters are still in the tank?
- 5.There were 44 birds on a wire. 17 of them flew away. How many birds are still on the wire?
- 6.Ben filled one container with 23 seashells and a second container with 26 seashells. How many seashells in all?
- 7.The class started with 46 acorns and used 30 during the project. How many acorns remain?
- 8.The pool holds 33 liters. 28 liters have been pumped in. How many more liters will it take to fill it?
What this worksheet covers
Eight story problems fill this word problems page; problem 3 asks "A store had 37 oranges in stock and sold 27 of them. How…", and the sheet stays at that level throughout. The problems are written as situations that have to be translated before they can be calculated and answers carry units, and a number without its unit is only half an answer. Further down, problem 6 asks "Ben filled one container with 23 seashells and a second…".
Skills practised
At grade 2, subtraction is about two-digit subtraction within 100 with regrouping, and mental subtraction of 10 and 100, and this sheet takes one slice of that. Working the page asks a student to read a situation and choose an operation before computing.
About the word problems format
Story problems are set one to a line with room to work underneath, problem 3, "A store had 37 oranges in stock and sold 27 of them. How…" among them, and the key gives each of the 8 answers with its unit. Take-away, comparison and missing-part situations all call for subtraction, and telling them apart is the reading work this format practises.
Set A, Set B and Set C
The three sets come from the same generator with three different seeds: same skill, same layout, fresh numbers, and an answer key computed with the problems. Where Set A's problem 5 is "There were 44 birds on a wire. 17 of them flew away. How…", Set B's is "The pool holds 15 liters. 10 liters have been pumped in.…".
How to use this worksheet
Grade 2 attention runs short, so split these eight subtraction problems over two or three sittings rather than pushing through in one; a number line or counters within reach is a strategy, not a failure. If more than a third of the eight problems come back wrong, stop and step back a grade in subtraction rather than assigning Set B.
One mistake to watch for
Subtraction facts are recomputed by counting back one at a time. Problem 6 on this grade 2 word problems page, "Ben filled one container with 23 seashells and a second…", is where to look for it.
The relationship to addition has not been made explicit, so 13 − 8 is not being read as "8 plus what is 13".
Practise fact families as a unit, four equations at a time, and give unknown-addend problems alongside the subtraction ones.
Other grade 2 subtraction formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
- Drill — Grade 2 Subtraction Practice, 20 problems
- Timed Drill — Grade 2 Subtraction Timed Drill, 60 problems
- Missing Number — Grade 2 Subtraction Missing Number, 24 problems
- Mixed Review — 2.MD.6 — Subtraction on a Number Line, 20 problems
- Vertical Format — Grade 2 Subtraction Vertical Format, 20 problems
A step either side
The same format one grade down and one grade up — the easier sheet is often the faster fix when this one is not landing.
- Grade 1 Addition and Subtraction Word Problems — grade 1, 12 problems
- Grade 3 Subtraction Word Problems — grade 3, 10 problems
Word Problems sheets in other grade 2 topics
Six PDFs, no sign-up: three versions of this grade 2 subtraction word problems and three answer keys, each eight problems long.