SEAGReady
NumberP6 level26 questions in the full course

Letters for UnknownsSEAG Practice Questions

Understanding that a letter can represent an unknown number, and substituting values into simple expressions.

Where your child meets this in real life: Writing formulas, understanding spreadsheet cells, generalising patterns

What your child needs to know

SEAGReady breaks letters for unknowns into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.

  1. 1

    Substitution with Explicit Signs

    supporting lesson — excluded from official-format mocks

    Replace a letter with a given value and calculate the result using explicit operation signs

  2. 2

    Algebraic Multiplication Notation

    enrichment lesson — excluded from official-format mocks

    Evaluate expressions using algebraic notation where multiplication signs are omitted (e.g., 4n means 4 times n)

  3. 3

    Same Letter, Same Value

    supporting lesson — excluded from official-format mocks

    Evaluate expressions where the same letter appears multiple times, using the same value consistently

Try these SEAG-style questions

Three free sample questions from our letters for unknowns course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.

Question 1Confidence builder

Ethan has n stickers in his album. He gets 8 more stickers from his friend. If n = 6, how many stickers does Ethan have now?

Answer choices for question 1
Question 2Confidence builder

Max works at a cafe for h hours and earns £5 per hour. His pay is written as 5h. If h = 3, how much does he earn?

Answer choices for question 2
Question 3Confidence builder

Cara buys two identical pens costing £n each, plus a ruler costing £2. If n = 3, what is the total cost?

Answer choices for question 3

Try the lesson: Substitution with Explicit Signs

This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.

Isla has n marbles in her bag. She finds 7 more marbles in the garden.

If n = 5, how many marbles does Isla have now?

n + 7 when n = 5

Understand what the letter means
1

The letter n stands for a number we know

Step 1 of 4

Prefer to read? See every step written out

Isla has n marbles in her bag. She finds 7 more marbles in the garden.

If n = 5, how many marbles does Isla have now?

  1. 1

    Understand what the letter means

    • The letter n stands for a number we know
    • We are told n = 5, so n represents 5 marbles
  2. 2

    Replace the letter with its value

    • Swap n for 5 in the expressionn + 7 → 5 + 7
  3. 3

    Calculate the answer

    • Add the numbers together5 + 7 = 12

Isla has 12 marbles now.

The key insight: A letter is just a placeholder for a number - once you know the number, swap it in!

Common mix-up: Thinking n means 'nothing' and writing 0 + 7 = 7. The letter n is not zero - it represents the specific number we're given (in this case, 5).

Mistakes to watch for

These are the misconceptions we see most often in letters for unknowns, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.

  • Thinking the letter is an abbreviation (a = apples)
  • Not understanding that the same letter has the same value throughout
  • Confusing x with multiplication sign

More number practice

Read & Write Whole NumbersIdentify Place Value of a DigitCompare Two Whole NumbersOrder a Set of Whole NumbersAddition Facts to 20Subtraction Facts Within 20
26 questions on this topic alone

Master letters for unknowns and everything it unlocks

SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.

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