Addition Word Problems Worksheet for Elementary Students

Let's solve each of these addition word problems step by step and explain the reasoning.

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1) There are thirty-six dogwood trees and thirty maple trees currently in the park. Park workers will plant fourteen more dogwood trees today. How many dogwood trees will the park have when the workers are finished?

- Current dogwood trees: 36
- Additional dogwood trees to be planted: 14
- Total dogwood trees = 36 + 14 = 50

✔ Answer: 50

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2) Joan has thirty-five books and she has read eight of them. Sally has forty-eight books. How many books do they have together?

- Joan’s books: 35
- Sally’s books: 48
- Total books = 35 + 48 = 83

> Note: The fact that Joan read 8 books is extra information — it doesn’t affect total number of books they own.

✔ Answer: 83

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3) Sara found forty-three seashells and Nancy found thirty-one seashells on the beach. When they cleaned them, they discovered that forty were cracked. How many seashells did they find together?

- Sara’s seashells: 43
- Nancy’s seashells: 31
- Total found = 43 + 31 = 74

> The cracked shells (40) are irrelevant to the question “how many did they find together?” That’s just a distraction.

✔ Answer: 74

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4) Mary had forty-one baseball cards, and eight were torn. Tim gave Mary forty-seven new baseball cards. How many baseball cards does Mary have now?

- Original cards: 41
- Torn cards: 8 → These are likely discarded, so we subtract them
- Remaining cards: 41 - 8 = 33
- New cards from Tim: 47
- Total now = 33 + 47 = 80

✔ Answer: 80

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5) Jason picked twenty-three plums and Mary picked forty-four plums. Sally picked thirty-five oranges. How many plums were picked in total?

- Jason’s plums: 23
- Mary’s plums: 44
- Total plums = 23 + 44 = 67

> Sally’s oranges are not plums, so we ignore them.

✔ Answer: 67

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6) There are thirty-three pencils and thirty-seven erasers in the drawer. Keith placed forty-one more pencils in the drawer. How many pencils are now there in all?

- Original pencils: 33
- Added pencils: 41
- Total pencils = 33 + 41 = 74

> Erasers are irrelevant here — we’re only asked about pencils.

✔ Answer: 74

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7) Sara grew twenty-five cantaloupes and twenty-nine turnips. Benny grew twenty-seven cantaloupes. How many cantaloupes did they grow in total?

- Sara’s cantaloupes: 25
- Benny’s cantaloupes: 27
- Total cantaloupes = 25 + 27 = 52

> Turnips are not relevant.

✔ Answer: 52

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8) Dan went to forty-seven football games this year, but missed twenty-two. He went to twenty-nine games last year. How many football games did Dan go to in total?

- This year: 47 games attended
- Last year: 29 games attended
- Total games attended = 47 + 29 = 76

> "Missed twenty-two" is extra info — we already know he attended 47 this year.

✔ Answer: 76

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9) Jason has fourteen violet and twenty-seven yellow marbles. Melanie has forty-eight violet marbles. How many violet marbles do they have in total?

- Jason’s violet marbles: 14
- Melanie’s violet marbles: 48
- Total violet marbles = 14 + 48 = 62

> Yellow marbles are irrelevant.

✔ Answer: 62

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10) Tom had forty-one pennies and nineteen dimes in his bank. His dad gave him twenty-nine dimes and forty-eight nickels. How many dimes does he have now?

- Tom’s original dimes: 19
- Dimes given by dad: 29
- Total dimes = 19 + 29 = 48

> Pennies and nickels are irrelevant — we’re only asked about dimes.

✔ Answer: 48

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✔ Final Answers:

1) 50
2) 83
3) 74
4) 80
5) 67
6) 74
7) 52
8) 76
9) 62
10) 48

Let me know if you'd like these formatted for printing or with explanations for students!