Sometimes in maths we are faced with word problems, which can confuse us as we are used to numbers! 

When we see these we need to look past the words and think about the maths that we know that can help us to solve the question.

Have a look at an example of a word problem below... look familiar?

Example

In a room full of people,

1/8 of them wear glasses.

1/6 of them wear contact lenses, and the rest have perfect eyesight.

What fraction of them have perfect eyesight?

1/8 + 1/6 =

3/24 + 4/24 = 7/24

24/24 - 7/24 = 17/24

Answer

 So 17/24 have perfect eyesight.

Let's have a go at some different word problems in this activity. Remember to always think carefully about what you are being asked to do!