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5th grade · Math · Unit 6 of 15

Expressions & Equations

Letters stand for numbers

What your child practices

Writing expressions like n + 5 for “5 more than a number”, evaluating them, solving equations to 100, and finding numbers that make an inequality true.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 5.4(B) · solving multi-step problems with a letter standing for the unknown

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A letter stands for an unknown number.
  2. Turn words into maths: "3 more than n" is n + 3.
  3. Do the same thing to both sides to solve.

Example: n + 7 = 15. What is n? Take 7 away from both sides. n = 15 − 7 = 8. Answer: n = 8

Expressions & Equations in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 6 of 15 in 5th grade Math, after Prime Factor Trees and before Patterns & Equations.

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

    Solve for n.

    n + 13 = 83

    answer box

  2. Question 2

    Evaluate 12n − 5 when n = 5.

    12n − 5, n = 5

    answer box

  3. Question 3

    Solve for n.

    n + 66 = 88

    answer box

  4. Question 4

    Is n = 9 the solution to 5n = 50?

    • No
    • Yes

  5. Question 5

    Which expression means “a number n divided by 3”?

    • n × 3
    • n ÷ 3
    • 3 ÷ n

  6. Question 6

    Which number makes n + 9 < 25 true?

    n + 9 < 25

    • 16
    • 4
    • 18

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