Solving Comparison Word Problems

1 of 8

When a problem asks "how many more?" or "how many fewer?", what single operation will almost always give you the answer?

Subtraction ($-$). These phrases ask you to find the difference between two quantities.

Dan has $12$ toy cars. Ben has $8$ toy cars. How many more cars does Dan have than Ben?

To compare, subtract the smaller number from the larger number: $12 - 8 = 4$. Dan has $4$ more cars.

A giraffe is $18$ feet tall. A zebra is $5$ feet tall. How much taller is the giraffe than the zebra?

Find the difference in their heights by subtracting: $18 - 5 = 13$. The giraffe is $13$ feet taller.

Maria's plant is $25$ cm tall. Noah's plant is $32$ cm tall. How much shorter is Maria's plant?

Find the difference by subtracting the smaller height from the larger one: $32 - 25 = 7$. Maria's plant is $7$ cm shorter.

The red team scored $45$ points. The blue team scored $38$ points. How many fewer points did the blue team score?

Compare the scores by finding the difference: $45 - 38 = 7$. The blue team scored $7$ fewer points.

Tom is saving $$75$ for a bike. He has saved $$50$ so far. How much more money does he need to save?

Subtract the amount he has from the total cost to find how much is still needed: $75 - 50 = 25$. He needs to save $$25$ more.

A recipe calls for $3$ cups of flour. You only have $1$ cup. How many more cups of flour do you need?

Find the difference between what is needed and what you have: $3 - 1 = 2$. You need $2$ more cups of flour.

A school bus drove $15$ miles on Monday and $22$ miles on Tuesday. How many more miles did it drive on Tuesday than on Monday?

Subtract Monday's miles from Tuesday's miles to find the difference: $22 - 15 = 7$. It drove $7$ more miles on Tuesday.