Hello, friends! Today, we’re going to have some fun with Halloween word problems. These problems might seem a little spooky because they use the words “less” and “fewer,” but don’t worry! By the end of this adventure, those words won’t be scary at all.
When we read word problems, it’s important to look for keywords or important information. Let’s underline anything we think might help us solve the problem.
Here’s our first problem: A witch uses 42 dragon scales to make a magical potion. She uses 19 fewer crow feathers than dragon scales. How many crow feathers does she use?
We know she uses 42 dragon scales and 19 fewer crow feathers. The word “fewer” tells us we need to subtract. So, let’s subtract 19 from 42 to find out how many crow feathers she uses.
First, we look at the ones place. We have 2 and 9. Since 2 is smaller than 9, we need to regroup. We’ll take a 10 from the 4 (which is 40) and turn it into a 3 (which is 30). Now, we add the 10 to the 2, making it 12.
Now we can subtract: 12 minus 9 is 3. Then, we subtract the tens place: 3 minus 1 is 2. So, the witch uses 23 crow feathers in her potion. Isn’t that magical?
Let’s try another problem: A ghost hunter found 65 ghosts on the first floor of a haunted house. She found 28 fewer ghosts on the second floor. How many ghosts did she find on the second floor?
We know there were 65 ghosts on the first floor and 28 fewer on the second floor. The word “fewer” means we need to subtract again. Let’s subtract 28 from 65 to find out how many ghosts were on the second floor.
Look at the ones place: we have 5 and 8. Since 5 is smaller than 8, we need to regroup. We’ll take a 10 from the 6 (which is 60) and turn it into a 5 (which is 50). Now, we add the 10 to the 5, making it 15.
Now we can subtract: 15 minus 8 is 7. Then, we subtract the tens place: 5 minus 2 is 3. So, there were 37 ghosts on the second floor. Spooky, right?
Remember, when you’re solving word problems, look for important information and underline it. Words like “fewer than” or “less than” usually mean you’ll be subtracting.
Great job, and keep practicing! See you next time for more fun learning adventures!
Make Your Own Potion: Gather some small objects like buttons, beads, or pebbles. Pretend these are magical ingredients for a potion. Choose a number of “dragon scales” (e.g., 30 buttons) and then decide how many “fewer” of another ingredient you will use (e.g., 10 fewer beads). Subtract to find out how many of the second ingredient you need. Share your potion recipe with a friend or family member and explain how you used subtraction to find the answer.
Ghost Hunt at Home: Imagine your home is a haunted house. Choose two rooms and pretend they are the first and second floors. Count the number of objects (like toys or books) in the first room. Then, decide how many “fewer” objects are in the second room. Subtract to find out how many objects are in the second room. Draw a picture of your haunted house and label the number of “ghosts” (objects) in each room.
Word Problem Detective: Create your own spooky word problem using the words “less” or “fewer.” Write it down and swap with a classmate or family member. Solve each other’s problems and check if you both got the right answers. Discuss what clues helped you solve the problem and how you knew when to subtract.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
—
Welcome to Kids Academy! Hello everyone! Let’s open the worksheet. Don’t forget to like this video and subscribe to our channel. You can find the link to this app in the comments below.
Today, we’re going to be looking at some spooky Halloween word problems. What’s really spooky about these word problems is that they contain the words “less” and “fewer,” but hopefully, after watching this video lesson, these two words will be a little less scary.
Let’s read the directions and get started right away. Solve the word problems below and check the correct total.
When I read word problems, I’m always looking out for keywords or important information, so let’s underline everything we think might be important.
The witch uses 42 dragon scales to make a magical potion. She uses 19 fewer crow feathers than dragon scales in her magic potion. How many crow feathers does she use?
So, I know she uses 42 dragon scales, and she also uses 19 fewer feathers. The question wants to know how many feathers she uses. It has that tricky word “less” in it.
How can we figure out how many crow feathers she really has? Well, when you see the word “less,” that usually signals subtraction. So, we take her 42 dragon scales and subtract 19 because she said there are 19 fewer crow feathers.
Let’s subtract using regrouping to figure out how many crow feathers she has. Let’s look closely at the ones place. In the ones place, I see that the 2 is smaller than the 9, so we’re going to have to regroup. Let’s take a 10 from the 4 (which represents 40) and turn it into a 3 (which represents 30). We’ll add the 10 that we took to the 2, and that becomes 12.
Now we can just subtract the ones place: 12 minus 9 is 3. And if we subtract the tens place: 3 minus 1 is 2.
We know she has 23 crow feathers in her magical potion because 42 minus 19 is 23, meaning 19 less than 42 is 23, giving us 23 crow feathers in her magical potion.
So, one less scary tip is that when you see the word “less than,” you can usually bet that it is a subtraction problem.
Let’s take a look at our second word problem, again underlining the important facts and details.
On the first floor of a haunted house, the ghost hunter found 65 ghosts. She found 28 fewer ghosts on the second floor. How many ghosts did she find on the second floor?
Okay, so I know she found 65 ghosts on the first floor, and she also found 28 fewer ghosts on the second floor. Again, when I see the word “fewer,” my mind immediately thinks of subtraction.
So for this problem, we need to subtract 65 minus 28 to find out how many ghosts there were on the second floor because there were 28 fewer ghosts on the second floor.
Let’s subtract with regrouping. Let’s look closely at the ones place again. In the ones place, we have a 5 and an 8. Since 5 is smaller than 8, we are going to have to regroup.
Let’s take a 10 from the 6 (which represents 60) and turn it into a 5 (which will now represent 50). We’ll take the 10 that we took from the tens place and give it to the 5 in the ones place, making it 15.
Now we can just subtract: 15 minus 8 is 7. And now we’ll subtract the tens place: 5 minus 2 is 3, giving us an answer of 37.
Remember, when you’re solving Halloween or any word problems, look and underline the important information in the word problem. Remember those words like “fewer than” or “less than” usually mean you’re going to be subtracting in that word problem.
Great work, and we’ll see you next time! Don’t forget to like us and subscribe to our channel. Find links to our apps in the comments below.
—
This version removes any informal language and ensures clarity while maintaining the educational content.
