There are two types of students: those who love math and those who fear it. To ensure your child falls into the former category, math puzzles can help. Use them to transform the learning process into a game, as this approach is among the most effective.
Engaging puzzles teach your child to explore various problem-solving methods, develop logical thinking, and enhance mathematical skills. They also improve concentration and creativity. It’s no coincidence that logic puzzles are used in competitions like math Olympiads, as they are a great way to test mathematical aptitude.
Consider this fun riddle about a circle: “A circle has sides. Who are they?” Wait, but doesn’t a circle have no sides, thus making the riddle incorrect? However, if you step away from conventional thinking, you’ll realize that a circle does have two sides — an inside and an outside.
Solving such math puzzles isn’t difficult, but it does require practice. Your child can gain this, for example, through sessions with a tutor. Although puzzles alone are not enough to learn math, they can be used in one-on-one lessons to help children more easily remember mathematical concepts.
Thus, the online math tutors at Mathema have gathered some intriguing puzzles for you to practice with your children, ensuring this is an effective way to make learning more engaging.
22 Math Puzzles for Kids
1
A farmer decided to give his animals an allowance. The rooster gets $1, the bee — $3, and the spider — $4. How much will the cat and dog receive?
Answer: The cat and dog each receive $2. The rooster has two legs, so it gets $0.50 per leg. The bee has six legs, resulting in $0.50 x 6 = $3. The same applies to the spider. Both the dog and the cat have four legs: $0.50 x 4 = $2.
2
There’s an empty basket, 12 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep. How many oranges can you put in this empty basket?
Answer: Only one. Once you put something in an empty basket, it’s no longer empty.
3
Emily has a large family: 20 cousins, ten aunts, and ten uncles. Each cousin has an aunt who isn’t Aunt Linda. How is that possible?
Answer: That aunt is Emily’s mother.
4
How can you get 45 using only the number 4 in mathematical operations?
Answer: You must use fractions: 44 + 4/4 = 45, since 4/4 = 1.
5
I say that 6 + 7 = 1. How is that possible?
Answer: I’m talking about time, as 6:00 + 7:00 equals 13:00, or 1 PM.
6
A 1,300-foot-long train moving at a speed of 1,300 feet per minute passes through a 1,300-foot-long tunnel. How long does it take for the train to go through the tunnel?
Answer: It takes two minutes. It takes one minute for the train’s nose and another minute for the last car.
7
When Jack was 8 years old, his younger brother Mike was half his age. Jack is now 30. How old is Mike?
Answer: Mike is 26 years old. When Jack was 8, Mike was 4. Their age difference stays constant over time, so Jack is still four years older than Mike.
8
How many times can you subtract 5 from 25?
Answer: You can only subtract it once. After 25 – 5 = 20, it’s no longer 25.
9
In a family, there are five sons, each with one sister. How many children are there in total?
Answer: There are six children in the family — the five sons share one sister.
10
I placed three matches on the table and asked you to move just one to make six. How can this be done?
Answer: Arrange them to form the Roman numeral six: VI.
11
There are three dimensions in a sphere, two in a circle, and zero in a point. What is it?
Answer: Dimensions. A sphere has three dimensions, a circle has two, and a point has none.
11
In a sphere, there are three, in a circle, there are two, and in a point, there are zero. What is it?
Answer: Dimensions. A sphere has three dimensions, a circle has two, and a point has none.
12
If you toss a coin five times and it lands heads each time, what are the chances it will land tails next time?
Answer: The coin lands either heads or tails with a 50% probability, regardless of how many times you toss it.
13
Alex adds three numbers. Then, he multiplies the same numbers and gets the same value. What are these numbers?
Answer: 1, 2, 3. 1+2+3=6; 1×2×3=6.
14
What do you need to add to 55555 to get 500?
Answer: A minus sign.
15
A farmer bought a rooster to sell eggs at $1 each. The bird lays five eggs per day. How much will the farmer earn in a week?
Answer: The farmer will earn nothing, as roosters do not lay eggs.
16
What number results if you multiply all the digits on a phone keypad?
Answer: Zero. Among the digits is zero, and multiplying anything by zero equals zero.
17
Two fathers and two sons are making wooden chairs. Each of them made a wooden chair, but there are only three chairs. Why?
Answer: Because there are only three people — a father, his son, and his son’s son.
18
You ordered a pizza for dinner for eight people. How many times do you need to cut the pizza to get eight pieces?
Answer: Four times. When you cut once, you divide the pizza in half. If you cut it twice, you get four pieces. Therefore, you get eight pieces if you cut the pizza four times.
19
Continue the sequence: 2, 5, 14, 41…
Answer: 122, as each subsequent number is multiplied by 3 and reduced by 1.
20
Lorenzo was born in 1988. In 1968, he was 20 years old. How is this possible?
Answer: This is because Lorenzo was born in 1988 BCE. We count time backwards — 1968 BCE is 20 years after 1988 BCE.
21
I am everything if you lay me on my side. I am nothing if you cut me in half. What am I?
Answer: The number 8. If you lay an 8 on its side, it becomes the infinity symbol ∞. If you cut it in half, it results in two zeros, 0 and 0.
22
What is half of 2 plus 2?
Answer: Half of 2 is 1; 1+2=3.
