Subtraction · Grade 2 / Grade 3

Missing Part Word Problems — Within 100 or 1,000

Teach a missing part as the amount needed to complete a known whole.

4 problemsAnswer key includedPrintable worksheetA4 & US Letter

Teaching notes for parents and teachers

How to teach it

Draw the total and mark the known part. Choose the number range that suits the student's subtraction skills.

Example to work through together

Use the model below as you explain the example. Have your student point to the quantities as you discuss them.

Whole: 58

23?

23 + □ = 58

Find the missing part: 58 − 23 = 35.

Check the whole: 23 + 35 = 58.

Larger amount: 80Smaller amount: 5921

80 − 59 = 21

Check: 59 + 21 = 80. The difference is 21; 80 is the larger amount, not the answer to “how much less?”

Ask your student

How much of the whole is still unaccounted for?

If your student needs help

If the student adds the known part to the total, have them point to the two parts that should combine to make the total.

Choosing and using the worksheet

Each sheet has two known-whole/missing-part questions and two start-to-target questions. The known whole or target is greater than 100 and no more than 1,000. The known part or starting amount is at least 100. All answers are nonnegative whole numbers; at most one question has a zero answer. The selected source does not provide every possible number pair.

Make a practice set

Select the worksheet, answer key, or both. When both are selected, the answer key prints after the questions. Keep it separate if you want your student to work independently.

Print materials

After your student finishes

Ask the child to label the whole and the known part in one question. Check by adding the two parts back together. Use smaller-number stories if identifying the relationship is still difficult.

More about subtraction · Grade 2 worksheets · Grade 3 worksheets

Grade 2 selected skill connection: Within 100 default activity: 2.OA.A.1 (selected one-step missing-amount relationships); 2.NBT.B.5 (addition/subtraction relationship). See the Common Core standards for this grade. This worksheet does not cover every requirement in the standard.

Grade 3 selected skill connection: Supporting 3.NBT.A.2 through the within-1000 activity: use place value and the addition/subtraction relationship to find missing amounts; not a complete fluency assessment. See the Common Core standards for this grade. This worksheet does not cover every requirement in the standard.