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2nd grade · Math · Unit 8 of 19

Balance It

Make both sides equal

What your child practices

Finding the unknown number that makes both sides of an equation equal, using symbols for unknowns, and spotting number patterns.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 2.7(C) · solving addition and subtraction problems where the unknown can be any term

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. An equals sign means both sides have the same value.
  2. Work out one side first.
  3. Find the missing number that balances the sides.

Example: What number makes both sides equal? 5 + 4 = ☐ + 3 Left side: 5 + 4 = 9. 9 = ☐ + 3, so ☐ is 6. Answer: 6

Balance It in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 8 of 19 in 2nd grade Math, after Add & Subtract to 1000 and before Groups & Sharing.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    In ★ + 12 = 24, what number does ★ stand for?

    • 11
    • 6
    • 12

  2. Question 2

    Is this number sentence true or false?

    13 + 5 = 15 + 4

    • false
    • true

  3. Question 3

    What number makes both sides equal?

    31 + 13 = 29 +

    • 19
    • 15
    • 5

  4. Question 4

    In ▲ + 12 = 24, what number does ▲ stand for?

    • 12
    • 22
    • 6

  5. Question 5

    Look at the pattern: 6, 11, 16, 21, ?. What number comes next?

    • 26
    • 24
    • 27

  6. Question 6

    What number makes both sides equal?

    9 + 9 = 7 +

    • 11
    • 5
    • 9

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