4.OA.3: Solve Multistep Word Problems
Also written as 4.OA.A.3 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.OA.A.3 · Cluster: Use the four operations with whole numbers to solve problems.
The Official Wording
Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.
Common Core State Standards, Grade 4, Operations & Algebraic Thinking · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What 4.OA.3 Means in Plain English
Fourth graders solve stories that take several steps and all four operations, and some divisions leave a remainder. The story says what it means: 30 students in vans of 8 is 3 R6, so they book 4 vans, but 30 cookies fill only 3 bags of 8.
Students write the problem as one equation with a letter, like (4 × 26 + 12) ÷ 8 = v, then check it by rounding. In 5th grade a leftover can become a fraction of a share (5.NF.3), and expressions gain parentheses and brackets (5.OA.1).
4.OA.3 I Can Statements
- I can write a multistep problem as one equation with a letter.
- I can decide what a remainder means in the story.
- I can use rounding to check that my answer is reasonable.
4.OA.3 Worked Example
A field-trip problem with three operations, a letter for the unknown, and a remainder that changes the answer.
Four classes of 26 students are going to the aquarium with 12 adults. Each van holds 8 people. How many vans does the school need?
- Write the whole problem as one equation. Let v be the number of vans.(4 × 26 + 12) ÷ 8 = v
- Find the students first: four classes of 26.4 × 26 = 104
- Add the adults, because everyone needs a seat.104 + 12 = 116
- Share 116 people into vans of 8.116 ÷ 8 = 14 R4
- 14 vans would leave 4 people behind, so the remainder means one more van.v = 15
Check it: Estimate: about 100 students and 10 adults is 110 people, and 8 × 14 = 112, so about 14 vans. Exactly, 14 vans seat only 112, too few for 116, and 15 vans seat 120.
Common Mistakes with 4.OA.3
Writing the remainder into the answer
116 ÷ 8 = 14 R4, so the school needs “14 R4 vans”
Try this: Ask what the 4 stands for in the story. Four people without a seat means one more van, so the answer is 15.
Always rounding the quotient up
284 cookies packed 6 to a box: 47 R2, so “48 full boxes”
Try this: Reread the question for the word that matters, here “full.” A box holding only 2 cookies is not full, so the answer stays 47.
Leaving a group out
104 ÷ 8 = 13 vans, with the 12 adults forgotten
Try this: List every group of people or things before computing, then tick each one off as it goes into the equation.
Where 4.OA.3 Fits
Practice 4.OA.3
Quick Check
- 284 cookies are packed in boxes of 6. How many boxes can be filled?
- A coach has 75 tennis balls and puts 4 in each can. How many balls are left over?
- Write an equation with a letter, then solve: Ms. Lee buys 3 packs of 48 pencils and gives 65 to another class. How many does she have left?