Fractions, decimals and percentsGrades 5–6
Decimal word problems worksheets
Each sheet has short story problems that use decimals in prices, change, lengths, weights and distances. Students decide whether to add, subtract, multiply or divide and write a labeled answer. Choose how many problems print and add an answer key.
- Fresh problems every time
- Answer key on its own page
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On this page
Why money and measurement
Decimals matter most when they stand for something: a price, a length of rope, a weight in kilograms. These stories put decimal operations back into context, which is where students most often lose track of the decimal point or choose the wrong operation. The sheet suits fifth and sixth graders who have already practiced decimal arithmetic on its own.
Each problem is a one-step situation. Some examples: buying a book and a pen, getting change from a $20 bill, a plant that grows a few more centimeters, a runner covering the same distance each day, or friends splitting a pizza bill equally. All four operations appear in every sheet, so the student has to read for meaning.
Settings
- Problems is set to Decimals and money. The other choices are the whole-number multiplication and division stories described on the multiplication and division word problems page.
- Number of problems accepts 4 through 12. Eight is the page default, and every problem has a work area and an "Answer:" line.
The printed instruction asks students to decide whether to add, subtract, multiply or divide, to show their work and to line up decimal points. The key shows each answer with a dollar sign or a unit: "$14.10", "9.2 cm" or "3.5 km".
Worked example: apples by the pound
Apples cost $2.35 per pound. How much do 6 pounds of apples cost?
- Decide on the operation. A price for one pound and a number of pounds means equal amounts combined, so multiply.
- Estimate. $2.35 is a bit more than $2.00, so six pounds should be a little over $12.
- Multiply as whole numbers: 235 × 6 = 1,410.
- The price has two decimal places, so the product does too: 14.10.
- Write the answer with its unit: $14.10.
Now extend it. If a customer pays with a $20 bill, the change is 20.00 − 14.10 = 5.90. That is a subtraction problem, and it requires writing 20 as 20.00 so the decimal points line up. Many sheets contain exactly this kind of pairing.
What the answer key can reveal
- A money answer with one decimal place. Writing $14.1 or $5.9 shows the student is not thinking in cents. Money always has two places.
- Multiplying when a share was needed. Splitting a bill among friends calls for division. A quick check: each friend should pay less than the whole bill.
- Misaligned decimals in addition or subtraction. Look for answers that are off by a factor of 10 in the work area.
- Missing units. An answer of 9.2 on a plant problem is incomplete without centimeters.
A good habit is to say what the problem is asking in one sentence before touching the numbers.
Building up
For direct practice of the multiplication step, use multiplying decimals by whole numbers. Students who struggle to reduce or convert amounts will benefit from decimals to fractions as well.