The Typical American Can’t Answer These Simple 3rd Grade Math Questions

Apple Answers

If you have 200 apples and give 164 to a friend, how many apples do you have left?

Answer

Story problems are notorious for being difficult, but the formula for the answer is simple.

Total apples = Number of apples you have (-) number of apples you gave away

Total apples=200-164

Answer: You have 36 apples

Fraction Frustration

Is 3/4 bigger than 2/3?

Answer

Fractions give everyone a headache. Here are step-by-step directions to solve this problem.

Is 3/4 > 2/3?

Find a common denominator for 4 and 3. A common denominator is a number both divide evenly into. In this case, it would be 12.

Convert the fractions to have 12 as the denominator. Since you multiply 4 x 3 to get 12 in the first fraction, also multiply 3 x 3. Since you multiply 3 x 4 in the second fraction, multiply 2 x 4.

Simplify the equation: Is 9/12 > 8/12. With the same denominator, we can easily compare the two. 9/12 is bigger than 8/12, which means 3/4 is bigger than 2/3.

Time Troubles

If school starts at 7:45 AM and is 6 hours 30 minutes long, what time does it end?

Answer

Remember that time only goes to 60 when adding these numbers together.

7:45 AM + 6 hours 30 minutes = 2:15 PM

Coin Calculation

If you have a dime, a penny, and a quarter, how much money do you have?

Answer

A dime is worth 10 cents, a quarter is worth one and a quarter is worth 25. Add them together.

10+25+1 = 36 cents

Measurement Miscellaneous

If two watermelons weigh six pounds and the first one weighs four pounds, how much does the second one weigh?

Answer

Use simple subtraction to solve this question.

6 – 4 = 2 pounds

Addition Actions

What is 348 + 356?

Answer

Methods change, but this is a fairly simple question, and you can add in columns or if you have access to a calculator.

348 + 356 = 704

Shading Solutions

If a circle has eight parts and four of them are shaded in, what percentage is shaded?

Answer

This involves creating a fraction and simplifying it, then multiplying it by 100 to get a percentage.

4/8 circles are shaded, which reduces to 1/2, so 1/2 of the circle is shaded. Take 1/2 and multiply by 100, which gives 50%.

Simple Spending

If Anna has $10 and she buys a toy for $3.50, how much money does she have left?

Answer

Adding and subtracting with decimals is a bit more complicated, but it’s easy once you figure it out.

10.00 – 3.50 = $6.50

Ruler Reactions

If one straw is eight inches long and the other is six inches long how much longer is the first straw?

Answer

Solve this one with a simple subtraction equation.

8 – 6 = 2 inches longer than the first straw

Rounding Reflections

Round the number 679 to the nearest hundred.

Answer

For this, you must determine if 679 is closer to 600 or 700. It’s 79 away from 600 and only 21 away from 700.

That makes the answer 700.

Geometry Guesses

How many angles are in a rectangle?

Answer

A rectangle has four right angles. The right angles are 90 degrees.

Placing Problems

What is the value of the digit 7 in the number 874?

Answer

In the number 874, the number 7 is the tens place, while 8 is in the hundreds and 4 is the ones place.

Sequence Structures

In the following sequence, what is the next number? 5, 10, 15, 20, ___?

Answer

Sequences are similar to patterns, so the key to understanding them is to figure out how the previous numbers or shapes are placed. For example, in the question on the former slide, there are five numbers between each number in the sequence. That means that the final number would be 20 + 5, or 25.

More Money

This cute kitty sweater’s full price is $10.00, but it’s on sale for 25% off. Before you head to the register, let’s figure out how much you need to buy it.

Answer

One could argue that fractions, area, and perimeter aren’t as useful in real life as many other math topics. A concept that students will face their entire lives is money percentages and losses. Whether they’re buying groceries, figuring out change at a retail job, or trying to calculate a discount, these math problems show up all over. In this one, you must determine what 25% of $10.00 is. Here’s how to do it.

You can determine the percentage of an amount by moving the decimal two places to the right and multiplying the number then. For example, in the problem listed above, 25 would change to .25 and you would multiply it by ten.

10 X .25 = $2.50

This isn’t the end of the problem. $2.50 is the discount on the sweater, not the final cost. So the next equation is 10 – 2.50 = $7.50. The sweater costs $7.50 with the discount.

Telling Time

If the clock shows 12:30, how long until it’s 1 PM?

Answer

We’ve discussed time a bit before, but just like with percentages and fractions, there are different ways to answer every question. This one is posed a bit differently, as you have to figure out how much time is left between 12:30 PM and 1 PM.

Remember that time doesn’t go to 100, only to 60. So 1 PM would be the 60th minute in the hour. If the clock is already at 12:30, then 60 – 30 equals 30. There are 30 minutes left until 1 PM.

Remainder Reflection

What is 29 divided by 5?

Answer

Some numbers divide evenly into others, but when they don’t, you’ve got a messy remainder on your hands. These can be hard to understand and create real-life applications, which is why so many Americans get confused by them, no matter their age.

The problem is what is 29 divided by 5? Five divides into 29 five times evenly but leaves four behind. That means the answer is five with a remainder of four. This can also be written as 5 R4.

Counting Chaos

Start at 25 and count by 5. What is the eighth number in the sequence?

Answer

Here, we have another pattern-type question, but with a twist. You’ll start at a pre-set number and figure out what the 8th number is. The first thing to do is create a sequence, adding five to each number starting with 25. Once you’ve done this eight times, you have your answer.

1. 25 + 5 = 30
2. 30 + 5 = 35
3. 35 + 5 = 40
4. 40 + 5 = 45
5. 45 + 5 = 50
6. 50 + 5 = 55
7. 55 + 5 = 60
8. 60 + 5 = 65

Multiplication Messes

What is 8 X 9?

Answer

Once you’ve learned your multiplication tables, these questions are easier, but the higher the number, the harder it gets. If you don’t have your table in front of you, you need to add eight together nine times to get the answer. Fortunately, times tables are one of the first things kids learn in math.

What is 8 X 9 = 72

Comparison Chaos

Which number is greater: 247 or 366?

Answer

These get easier as time goes on, but sometimes it’s difficult to compare two numbers, especially when they get bigger. Once they hit millions or billions, it’s extremely difficult to solve this quickly. But this one is pretty simple.

One way to look at this is to examine the hundreds spot. One has the number two and the other has the number three. That would make the second number bigger automatically. If the hundreds were the same, you would then check the tens, then the ones. In this case 366 > 247.

Word Wisdom

If there are 12 students at each table in a class, how many students are in four tables?

Answer

This is a simple multiplication problem if you can identify the numbers. If you have four tables with 12 students, you can use your multiplication tables to find the number, or you may even remember it.

12 (students at each table) X 4 (total tables in class) = 48 students total