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Solving equations worksheet generator

Print algebra worksheets that solve one-step and two-step equations, with two ruled lines of working under every question. Choose whether the unknown is written as x, as n or as an empty box — the notation an elementary class meets before letters arrive — and whether two-step solutions may go negative. Download a US Letter or A4 PDF with the answer key.

Choose one-step or two-step, pick the symbol for the unknown, preview the sheet, then download the PDF.

Quick presets

One-step equations never go negative — “x + 12 = 5” is a lesson about negative numbers rather than about the balance method. Choose two-step or mixed to switch this on.

Advanced settings
Solving equations worksheetName: Date: 1) Solve: 11x = 55x = 2) Solve: x + 15 = 16x = 3) Solve: x + 8 = 36x = 4) Solve: 5x = 85x = 5) Solve: x − 19 = 37x = 6) Solve: x − 7 = 24x = 7) Solve: 18 − x = 11x = 8) Solve: x ÷ 8 = 1x = 9) Solve: x ÷ 9 = 11x = 10) Solve: x + 2 = 94x = 11) Solve: x + 18 = 37x = 12) Solve: x ÷ 2 = 45x = Page 1 of 2Created with Print Joey — printjoey.com
Page 1 of 2
Answer key1) x = 53) x = 285) x = 567) x = 79) x = 9911) x = 192) x = 14) x = 176) x = 318) x = 810) x = 9212) x = 90Page 2 of 2Created with Print Joey — printjoey.com
Page 2 of 2 — answer key

How it works

  1. Choose one-step, two-step or mixed equations, and what stands in for the unknown.
  2. Set how many questions, and whether two-step solutions may go negative.
  3. Download the PDF, print it, or copy a share link that restores these settings.

Using these worksheets in teaching

The balance method survives contact with two-step equations only if a child has been made to write both sides of every line, and the ruled working space here exists to make that the path of least resistance. The commonest failure is not arithmetic but order: faced with 4x + 7 = 31 children undo the multiplication first because it is written first, and get nowhere. Undo the outermost operation — the one furthest from the unknown — and the rest follows. Starting with the empty box rather than a letter is worth more than it sounds: children who are fluent with □ + 7 = 12 have already done the reasoning, and swapping the box for an x becomes a change of handwriting rather than a new topic. Two forms are worth deliberate attention because they break the pattern children build: 20 − x = 8, where the unknown is the thing being subtracted, and x ÷ 3 = 6, where the instinct to divide is exactly wrong. Both appear in the one-step set on purpose.

Frequently asked questions

What is the empty box option for?
It prints an empty square where the unknown goes: □ + 7 = 12 rather than x + 7 = 12. That is the notation elementary classrooms use before a letter is introduced, and it lets a child meet the balance method a year before they meet algebra. The box is drawn rather than typed, so it measures and prints identically in the preview and in the PDF.
What is the difference between one-step and two-step?
A one-step equation has a single operation between the unknown and the answer: x + 7 = 12, 4x = 28, x ÷ 3 = 6, or 20 − x = 8. A two-step equation multiplies or divides and then adds or subtracts: 4x + 7 = 31. Mixed draws from both, which is the honest test of whether a child is following the method or pattern-matching the layout.
Why is “allow negatives” switched off for one-step questions?
Because it would change nothing, so it is pinned off rather than left on the page doing nothing. Negatives are only ever produced by the two-step forms; x + 12 = 5 is a lesson about negative numbers rather than about the balance method the option exists for. Choose two-step or mixed and the switch becomes live.
Do the divisions come out exactly?
Always. Every equation is built backwards from a whole-number solution — a division form is constructed from its quotient rather than drawn and then checked — so no question on the sheet has a fractional answer and none is thrown away for having one.
How much working space is printed?
Two faint ruled lines under each equation, plus an “x = ” line to write the answer on. That is enough for the two lines of a two-step solution written properly, and little enough that twelve questions still fit on one page.
What does the answer key show?
The solution for each question, numbered to match. With x or n it prints “x = 5”; with the empty box it prints just the value, because a box is not a character the key can repeat back.

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Last reviewed: July 2026. Worksheet content is generated by deterministic algorithms and covered by automated correctness tests — no AI-generated answers.