Effects of place-value and magnitude processing on word problem solving

Word problems are widely used in math instruction to convey arithmetic operations within the context of everyday situations. Although they require solving an arithmetic problem, there is only little research regarding influences of basic numerical processes on the difficulty of arithmetic word problems. Therefore, the present study set out to investigate influences of place-value and magnitude processing as reflected by the carry/borrowing and the problem size effect. Accordingly, we assessed 128 children between 8 and 11 years of age on two-digit addition and subtraction problems presented in both word problem and digital-Arabic formats. Our results indicated that word problems were more difficult to solve. Closer inspection of basic numerical processes indicated that presentation of arithmetic problems in word problem format significantly increased the effects of place-value and magnitude processing, driving a higher level of difficulty. This finding seems to suggest quantitative as well as qualitative differences in arithmetic operations and their underlying basic numerical processes when embedded in word problems.