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Free Grade 3 Substitution Flashcards

Free Grade 3 flashcards for Substitution: 12 real questions with a full answer key and worked solutions. An expression uses letters for numbers. Substitute a value to evaluate it, collect like terms to simplify it, and multiply every term in a bracket to expand it.

Price

Free

Difficulty

Foundation

Estimated time

25 min

Total marks

24

Learning objectives

Every objective is checkable, and each one maps to an activity and an assessment.

  • UnderstandExplain substitution

    Explain substitution accurately in a familiar context.

    Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items

  • ApplyCalculate substitution

    Calculate substitution accurately in a familiar context.

    Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items

  • AnalyseCompare substitution

    Compare substitution accurately in a familiar context.

    Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items

  • EvaluateJustify substitution

    Justify substitution accurately in a familiar context.

    Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items

Prerequisites

Close these gaps first — each has its own free lesson, worksheet and quiz.

How Substitution works

An expression uses letters for numbers. Substitute a value to evaluate it, collect like terms to simplify it, and multiply every term in a bracket to expand it.

Key wordsexpressiontermlike termssubstituteexpand

12 practice questions

Easy to hard, 24 marks in total. Try them first, then open the answers.

  1. 1.Find the value of 5x + 11 when x = 4.[1]
  2. 2.Find the value of 7x + 9 when x = 9.[1]
  3. 3.Find the value of 6x + 13 when x = 3.[1]
  4. 4.Find the value of 2x + 3 when x = 7.[1]
  5. 5.Simplify 8x + 2y + 9x − 1y.[2]
  6. 6.Simplify 6x + 6y + 5x − 8y.[2]
  7. 7.Simplify 4x + 4y + 4x − 9y.[2]
  8. 8.Simplify 5x + 8y + 5x − 9y.[2]
  9. 9.Expand 3(3x + 9).[3]
  10. 10.Expand 3(3x + 1).[3]
  11. 11.Expand 4(5x + 1).[3]
  12. 12.Expand 4(4x + 7).[3]
Show answers and working
  1. 1. 31

    Replace x with 4: 5 × 4 + 11. 20 + 11 = 31.

  2. 2. 72

    Replace x with 9: 7 × 9 + 9. 63 + 9 = 72.

  3. 3. 31

    Replace x with 3: 6 × 3 + 13. 18 + 13 = 31.

  4. 4. 17

    Replace x with 7: 2 × 7 + 3. 14 + 3 = 17.

  5. 5. 17x + 1y

    Collect x terms: 8x + 9x = 17x. Collect y terms: 2y − 1y = 1y.

  6. 6. 11x − 2y

    Collect x terms: 6x + 5x = 11x. Collect y terms: 6y − 8y = -2y.

  7. 7. 8x − 5y

    Collect x terms: 4x + 4x = 8x. Collect y terms: 4y − 9y = -5y.

  8. 8. 10x − 1y

    Collect x terms: 5x + 5x = 10x. Collect y terms: 8y − 9y = -1y.

  9. 9. 9x + 27

    Multiply each term inside by 3. 3 × 3x = 9x, 3 × 9 = 27.

  10. 10. 9x + 3

    Multiply each term inside by 3. 3 × 3x = 9x, 3 × 1 = 3.

  11. 11. 20x + 4

    Multiply each term inside by 4. 4 × 5x = 20x, 4 × 1 = 4.

  12. 12. 16x + 28

    Multiply each term inside by 4. 4 × 4x = 16x, 4 × 7 = 28.

Worked examples

Easy example

Find the value of 9x + 12 when x = 4.

  1. Replace x with 4: 9 × 4 + 12.
  2. 36 + 12 = 48.
  3. Answer: 48
Medium example

Simplify 7x + 2y + 5x − 9y.

  1. Collect x terms: 7x + 5x = 12x.
  2. Collect y terms: 2y − 9y = -7y.
  3. Answer: 12x − 7y
Hard example

Expand 3(4x + 3).

  1. Multiply each term inside by 3.
  2. 3 × 4x = 12x, 3 × 3 = 9.
  3. Answer: 12x + 9

Interactive practice

Free, no account required — answer on screen or print it.

Common mistakes

What learners typically get wrong, and how to fix it.

  • Reads 3x as 3 + x, or as 3 with x stuck on.

    Correction: 3x means 3 × x.

  • Only multiplies the first term when expanding.

    Correction: Draw arrows from the outside to every inside term.

Teacher tips

  • · Use algebra tiles to show collecting like terms.

Parent tips

  • · Ask what 'number of pizzas × price' is for different orders.

Real-life applications

  • · Formulas for cost: total = 5n + 2 for n items plus delivery.

Assessment objectives

How mastery is evidenced, and which standards it maps to.

COLLEGE-BOARD COL-827.1 — Mapped statement covering Substitution.AQA AQA-420.2 — Mapped statement covering Substitution.

Every free resource for Substitution

One concept, one ecosystem — all of it free.

Goes deeper

The entities below this one, each with the same complete free resource set.

Sibling concepts

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Lateral links, including across subjects.

Next topics

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Frequently asked

Is this Grade 3 Substitution flashcards really free?
Yes. Every flashcards on FreeMathWorksheet is free to use, print and share — no account, no paywall and no watermark.
What should a learner already know before this?
Start with Collecting Like Terms, Using Letters for Numbers, Number Sense. Each one has its own free lesson, worksheet and quiz.
How is the flashcards sequenced?
Recognition first, then understanding, application, reasoning and finally mastery — the same ladder used across every free resource on the platform.
What comes next after Substitution?
Move on to Expanding Brackets, Factorising, Algebraic Fractions, Equations, which build directly on this idea.

Related resources

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