Easy examples of 'change unknown' subtraction story problems (Grade 1)

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🔢 Change Unknown Subtraction: This type of problem tells us the starting amount and the ending amount, but we need to figure out how much was taken away.
• ✍️ Key Words: Look for words like 'gave away,' 'ate,' 'lost,' or 'used.' These usually mean something was subtracted.
• 💡 Strategy: Start with the bigger number (the starting amount) and subtract the smaller number (the ending amount) to find the change.
• ➕ Checking Your Work: You can check your answer by adding the amount that was taken away to the ending amount. This should equal the starting amount.

Practice Quiz

1. Lily had 8 stickers. She gave some to her friend. Now she has 5 stickers. How many stickers did Lily give to her friend?
   1. 2
   2. 3
   3. 4
2. Tom had 7 cookies. He ate some cookies. Now he has 2 cookies. How many cookies did Tom eat?
   1. 4
   2. 5
   3. 6
3. Mia had 9 balloons. Some balloons flew away. Now she has 3 balloons. How many balloons flew away?
   1. 5
   2. 6
   3. 7
4. Ben had 6 toy cars. He gave some to his brother. Now he has 1 toy car. How many toy cars did Ben give to his brother?
   1. 3
   2. 4
   3. 5
5. Ava had 5 pencils. She lost some pencils. Now she has 0 pencils. How many pencils did Ava lose?
   1. 3
   2. 4
   3. 5
6. Sam had 10 grapes. He ate some grapes. Now he has 4 grapes. How many grapes did Sam eat?
   1. 5
   2. 6
   3. 7
7. Zoe had 4 books. She gave some to the library. Now she has 1 book. How many books did Zoe give to the library?
   1. 1
   2. 2
   3. 3