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One-Step Equations: Addition and Subtraction

Use this page when you want one step equations addition subtraction worksheets in the next thirty seconds: choose how many problems you want, press print, and the answer key comes out on its own page behind the worksheet. The version loaded below opens with items in the shape of x + 18 = 38, x and x − 4 = 10, x; the key lists 20 and 14 next to their question numbers.

📄 ONE STEP EQUATIONS ADDITION SUBTRACTION — A NEW SHEET EVERY TIME YOU PRESS THE BUTTON
🎲 New set of problems

‘New set of problems’ opens the generator in its own tab. There you can change the problem count and turn the answer key on or off. ‘Print or save as PDF’ opens the print dialog — choose Save as PDF in the printer list to keep the file. The sheet fits US Letter and A4, and the answer key prints on its own page.

What this worksheet practises

Checking is trivial and almost always skipped: substitute the answer back and see whether the two sides really are equal.

This sheet uses solutions from 3 to 20, so the arithmetic never gets in the way of the reasoning.

A one-step equation asks what value makes the two sides balance. Solving x + 18 = 38, x gives 20, and the method — undo the operation on both sides — is the foundation of everything algebraic that follows.

Because each sheet is new, the child solves rather than recalls, and the operation to undo changes from line to line.

These one step equations addition subtraction worksheets are commonly aligned with the expressions and equations strand for grade 6, and the skill appears in most curricula somewhere around this point.

A sample of this sheet, with answers

These six come from the sheet loaded on this page. Press the button and the numbers change, but the shape stays the same (solutions from 3 to 20).
#ProblemAnswerWhat to check
1x + 18 = 38, x =20Watch for: dividing when the variable is added, not multiplied
2x − 4 = 10, x =14Check: losing a negative sign in the rearrangement
3x + 11 = 15, x =4Look at: solving by inspection and getting lucky
4x + 8 = 18, x =10Ask about: using the same operation instead of the inverse
5x − 3 = 9, x =12Watch for: not substituting back
6x + 7 = 12, x =5Check: operating on one side only

Try one together first

Try x + 11 = 15, x together before letting the child start alone. The answer to x + 11 = 15, x is 4, and talking through how it was reached takes about a minute and saves several minutes of guessing later in the sheet.

A good first problem to do together is x + 18 = 38, x, which comes out at 20. Do x + 18 = 38, x once with the child narrating, then hand over the pencil and start the clock on the other 20 problems.

Where children usually slip up

How to run this as a 10-minute daily drill

  1. Keep the session to about 10 minutes. A child working at this level who is still counting on fingers will need longer than that on a line like x + 18 = 38, x, and that is fine: the timer is a measurement, never a punishment.
  2. Read the first two problems out loud together before starting the clock. It costs fifteen seconds and removes most of the 'I did not understand the question' errors.
  3. Write the finish time and the score at the top of every sheet. Two weeks of those two numbers tells you more about progress on one-step equations with addition and subtraction than any single test result.
  4. Use a pencil, not a pen. Children working on one-step equations with addition and subtraction rethink far more often when erasing is allowed, and you get to see exactly where the rethinking happened on an item like x + 11 = 15, x.
  5. Mark it together straight away while the working is still fresh, so a slip like the one behind x + 11 = 15, x can be talked through instead of guessed at.

The answer key

Answers appear next to their question numbers, so a wrong item like x − 4 = 10, x can be found in the key in a second and re-worked while it is still fresh.

Keys are produced by the same code that produces the questions, so a mismatch between question and answer is not possible on these sheets.

Printing and saving as PDF

To save these one step equations addition subtraction worksheets instead of printing them, choose 'Save as PDF' in the printer list. You get the worksheet and the answer key as a single PDF, on Letter or A4 depending on your printer settings.

The sheet is laid out to fit one page on both US Letter and A4. Leave the browser scaling at 100% and turn headers and footers off, and the 20 problems land inside the margins on either paper size.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account to print these worksheets?
No. There is no sign-up, no email and no download step — the one step equations addition subtraction worksheets are built in your browser and go straight to your printer or to a PDF file.
How do I check an answer?
Put it back into the original equation. If both sides come out equal, the answer is right, no marking scheme required.
Should the child show working?
Yes — writing the operation applied to both sides is the whole point. An answer with no working cannot be diagnosed when it goes wrong.
Is the answer key included?
Yes, on its own page behind the worksheet. For the sheet loaded right now it shows 20 for x + 18 = 38, x and 14 for x − 4 = 10, x.

When these become easy, move along the related links below rather than adding more problems to the same sheet.

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Free printable math worksheets from a working math academy director in Korea. Problems come from our own code, not from a published workbook. Every sheet prints on US Letter or A4 with its answer key. All worksheets · Worksheet generator · Korean site
Last updated: 2026-09-13