Word Problems Worksheets - 15 Worksheets Library - Free Printable

Let's solve each problem step by step. All questions ask for absolute value expressions that represent the difference between two quantities. The absolute value ensures the result is always positive, regardless of which quantity is larger.

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1. Plant Growth

- One plant grows +2 cm/day, another grows +5 cm/day.
- Difference in growth rates:
$$
|5 - 2| = |3| = 3
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |5 - 2| $

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2. Flower Petals

- One flower has –10 petals (likely a typo or conceptual; maybe negative means "lost" petals), another has 15 petals.
- Difference in number of petals:
$$
|15 - (-10)| = |15 + 10| = |25| = 25
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |15 - (-10)| $

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3. Tree Height

- One tree is 4 meters, another is 12 meters tall.
- Difference in height:
$$
|12 - 4| = |8| = 8
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |12 - 4| $

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4. Leaf Size

- One plant has leaves with area –30 cm², another 40 cm².
- Negative area doesn’t make physical sense, but assuming it's a signed value (e.g., net change or error), we take absolute difference:
$$
|40 - (-30)| = |40 + 30| = |70| = 70
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |40 - (-30)| $

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5. Plant Lifespan

- One plant has lifespan –5 years (possibly meaning it died 5 years ago?), another 8 years.
- Difference:
$$
|8 - (-5)| = |8 + 5| = |13| = 13
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |8 - (-5)| $

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6. Flower Fragrance

- One flower rated 9, another 7 on scale 0–10.
- Difference:
$$
|9 - 7| = |2| = 2
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |9 - 7| $

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7. Cactus Spines

- One cactus has –20 spines (again, likely symbolic), another has 30 spines.
- Difference:
$$
|30 - (-20)| = |30 + 20| = |50| = 50
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |30 - (-20)| $

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8. Plant Water Absorption

- One plant absorbs –1.5 liters/day, another 2 liters/day.
- Difference:
$$
|2 - (-1.5)| = |2 + 1.5| = |3.5| = 3.5
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |2 - (-1.5)| $

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9. Fruit Harvest

- One tree yields –100 fruits (perhaps loss or negative harvest), another 150 fruits.
- Difference:
$$
|150 - (-100)| = |150 + 100| = |250| = 250
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |150 - (-100)| $

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10. Plant Oxygen Production

- One plant produces –50 mL/hour, another 70 mL/hour.
- Difference:
$$
|70 - (-50)| = |70 + 50| = |120| = 120
$$
- ✔ Answer: $ |70 - (-50)| $

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✔ Final Answers (All Absolute Value Expressions):

1. $ |5 - 2| $
2. $ |15 - (-10)| $
3. $ |12 - 4| $
4. $ |40 - (-30)| $
5. $ |8 - (-5)| $
6. $ |9 - 7| $
7. $ |30 - (-20)| $
8. $ |2 - (-1.5)| $
9. $ |150 - (-100)| $
10. $ |70 - (-50)| $

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🔍 Explanation:

In all cases, we use absolute value to find the magnitude of the difference, regardless of direction. The general form is:
$$
|A - B|
$$
where $ A $ and $ B $ are the two values being compared.

Even when one value is negative (as in many cases here), we still subtract them and take the absolute value to get a positive difference.

Let me know if you'd like these simplified numerically!