Comparison Word Problem Quiz/Game
Comparison word problems involve two or more distinct sets or quantities, where the goal is to determine the relationship (difference or ratio) between them, or to use the relationship to find an unknown quantity.
This game focuses on addition and subtraction comparison word problems (e.g., “how many more”, “fewer than”). Scroll down the page for a more detailed explanation.
 

Comparison Quest

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Question

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How to Play the Comparison Word Problem Game

1. Look at the Problem: Read the problem carefully. Write the equation that matches the story, solve it and select one of the answers.
   
2. Check Your Work: If you selected the right answer, it will be highlighted in green. If you are wrong, it will be highlighted in red and the correct answer will be highlighted in green.
   
3. Get a New Problem: Click “Next Problem” for a new problem.
   Your score is tracked, showing how many you’ve gotten right.
   
4. Finish Game When you have completed 10 questions, your final score will be displayed.
    
   

Comparison Word Problems
Comparison word problems involve two or more distinct sets or quantities, where the goal is to determine the relationship (difference or ratio) between them, or to use the relationship to find an unknown quantity.
The central feature of these problems is the language used to express the relationship, such as “more than,” “fewer than,” “less than,” or “times as many.” These problems often require the use of subtraction (for additive comparisons) or division/multiplication (for multiplicative comparisons).
Additive Comparison Problems
These are the most common type in early elementary grades (K-3) and focus on finding the difference between two amounts.
Structure: B is defined in terms of A, plus a difference.
Finding the Difference (Unknown Difference)
In this scenario, both quantities are known, and the question asks how much more or how much less one quantity is compared to the other.
Operation
Subtraction is used to find the difference between the two known numbers.
Example
David has 15 toy cars. Emily has 9 toy cars. How many more cars does David have than Emily?
Solution
15 - 9 = 6

Finding the Larger Amount (Unknown Larger)
The smaller quantity and the difference are known. The question asks for the total of the larger quantity.
Operation
Addition is used, as the difference is being added to the smaller amount to find the larger one.
Example
Maria has 12 crayons. Noah has 5 more crayons than Maria. How many crayons does Noah have?
Solution
12 + 5 = 17

Finding the Smaller Amount (Unknown Smaller)
The larger quantity and the difference are known. The question asks for the total of the smaller quantity.
Operation
Subtraction is used, as the difference must be removed from the larger amount to find the smaller one.
Example
A blue whale weighs 70 tons. A gray whale weighs 25 tons less than the blue whale. How much does the gray whale weigh?
Solution
70 - 25 = 45

Additive Comparison Problems: Inverse Relationship
These problems are defined by an “inverse relationship” because the wording uses comparative language (like “more than” or “taller than”) that typically suggests addition, but the solution requires the inverse operation (subtraction) to find the smaller, unknown quantity.
Example
A farm sold 140 dozen eggs on Saturday. That is 35 dozen more than the number of eggs sold on Friday. How many dozen eggs were sold on Friday?
Solution
140 - 35 = 105 dozen eggs
 

This video gives a clear, step-by-step approach to explain how to solve comparison addition and subtraction word problems.

• Show Video

 

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