PencilGo

Grade 7 · Math

7th grade Multi-step problems with positive and negative numbers, and checking they make sense worksheet

6 printable versionsOn Level10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

When it’s done, scan the sheet with your phone and PencilGo marks it and picks the next one. Create a free account

Version
Print

Multi-step problems with positive and negative numbers, and checking they make sense

Grade 7 Math Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. A whale Jun watches from a boat starts at -12.25 m (below the surface is negative). It rises 1/2 m each second for 9 seconds. Where is the whale then?

  2. Kira's robot starts at 2.25 on a number line. It moves 1/2 to the left in each step, for 7 steps. Where does the robot stop?

  3. Luz hikes from 1.5 m above the trailhead. The trail descends 3/4 m each minute for 5 minutes. What is Luz's height above the trailhead then?

  4. A table of four rows. Row | Change: 1 | -3/4; 2 | 1.5; 3 | -0.25; 4 | -2. Milo keeps a table of how a pond's water level changed on four days, in cm. What is the total change?

  5. A table of four rows. Row | Change: 1 | 2.5; 2 | -3/4; 3 | -1.25; 4 | 1/4. Noah keeps a table of how the temperature changed on four days, in degrees. What is the total change?

  6. A table of four rows. Row | Change: 1 | -1/2; 2 | -2.25; 3 | 3; 4 | 1.25. Pia keeps a table of how a game score changed in four rounds, in points. What is the total change?

  7. Ari has 3.25 liters of juice and fills 3 cups of 1/4 liter each. How many liters of juice are left?

  8. Bo has 8.5 kg of flour and uses 7/8 kg for each of 6 batches. How many kilograms of flour are left?

  9. Milo divides 61.6 ÷ (-7.7) on a phone, and a notification covers the answer. Use a quick estimate. Which answer makes sense?

    • -8
    • -0.8
    • 8
    • -80
  10. Pia multiplies (-1.2) × (-4.1) in the margin of a book. Use a quick estimate. Which answer makes sense?

    • -4.92
    • 0.492
    • 49.2
    • 4.92
PencilGopencilgo.com

7th grade Multi-step problems with positive and negative numbers, and checking they make sense worksheet – printable
Print: 123456

About this worksheet

Multi-step problems with positive and negative numbers, and checking they make sense. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can solve a story that needs two or three steps with positive and negative fractions and decimals, one step at a time.
  • I can turn a fraction into a decimal when a problem uses both, and keep track of which way each change goes.
  • I can use a quick estimate to see whether an answer is the right size and the right sign, and say what a negative total means.

Standard: 7.NS.A.3, 7.EE.B.3

Words to know

total change: All the changes added together, with their signs.

mean: The total of some numbers shared equally: add them, then divide by how many.

estimate: A quick answer from friendly numbers, to check the real answer is near.

rate: How much something changes each time, like -0.75 degrees each hour.

reasonable: An answer that is about the right size and on the right side of 0.

Common mistakes

Your child got the right size but the wrong sign on the answer.

Your child added the rate and the time instead of multiplying.

Your child stopped after the first step.

What to say

Ask: after the last change, is the number left or right of 0?

Ask: if something drops 2 each hour for 5 hours, is that 2 + 5 or 2 × 5?

Ask: where does the story start, and has that been used yet?

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with multi-step problems with positive and negative numbers, and checking they make sense?

Your child got the right size but the wrong sign on the answer.

How can I help my child with multi-step problems with positive and negative numbers, and checking they make sense?

Ask: after the last change, is the number left or right of 0?

Are these 7th grade math worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More grade 7 math

See all grade 7 math

Every sheet you scan goes into your child’s record: dated, marked and ready for the year-end portfolio. Homeschool records