The step that turns a word problem into algebra is naming the unknown and writing an equation for it. These free printable worksheets ask a child to call the missing amount x, write the equation the story describes, and solve it.
Every problem hides one unknown quantity, and the child's job is to represent it. A story where an amount starts unknown, grows, and ends at a total becomes x + p = q; a story where equal groups make a total becomes p × x = q. Writing that equation is the real skill — it is the first time a child uses a letter to stand for a number they do not know yet, which is exactly where algebra begins.
Why this sheet works
The numbers stay deliberately small so the work is the modeling, not the arithmetic. Solving x + 12 = 27 or 3 × x = 24 is easy once the equation is written; the difficulty the sheet builds is reading a situation and turning it into that equation in the first place. This is grade-4 work — representing a problem with a letter for the unknown — reaching toward the equation-solving of later algebra.
How this one works
One question from this sheet, worked through a step at a time.
Write an equation using x for the unknown, then solve it.
Dr. Okafor put 20 ration packs equally into 4 crates.
4x = 20
4x = 20
x = 5
5 ration packs
Read it through once. The deliverable here is an EQUATION written with x, not just a number — so turn the story into one before solving it.
Let x stand for the unknown the story is about. Writing what the story says as an equation: 4x = 20.
Now solve it: x = 5. The equation was what the question asked you to write; the number then answers it, in ration packs.
1Dr. Okafor put 20 ration packs equally into 4 crates.Write an equation using x for the unknown, then solve it.
2Dr. Okafor packed 22 batteries into crates of 11. Besides those, Dr. Okafor has 3 core samples.Write an equation using x for the unknown, then solve it.
3Sato has 30 ration packs, which is 6 times as many as Vega has. Sato also keeps 8 core samples.Write an equation using x for the unknown, then solve it.
4Sato put 42 spare parts equally into 7 lockers.Write an equation using x for the unknown, then solve it.
Word problems · EquationsAnswer key
1. 4x = 20, so x = 52. 11x = 22, so x = 23. 6x = 30, so x = 54. 7x = 42, so x = 6
