Math Practice Problems for Fifth Grade in Number Sense

5N-25) Answer: 75 cards

George had 75 football cards. He gave 3-for-1 in four trades. Then he received 5-for-1 in two trades. How many cards does he have now?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures. 

5N-24) Answer: 34 or 94

I am a number less than 100. My units digit is a 4. The sum of my digits is an odd number. My tens digit is a multiple of 3. Who am I?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-23) Answer: 1/3 vinegar

One jar is half full of vinegar and another jar twice its size is one quarter full of vinegar. Both jars are filled with water and the contents are mixed in a third container. What part of the mixture is vinegar?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-22) Answer: 543

Monica is thinking of a number. Can you guess her number using these clues? It is a three digit number. Its digits are in descending order. It is divisible by three. The hundred's digit is two more than the one's digit. Add the the three digits will give you a dozen.  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-21) Answer: 21 marbles

Jeff has less than 30 marbles. When he puts them in piles of 3 he has no marbles left over. When he puts them in piles of 2 he has 1 left. When he puts them in piles of 5 he has 1 left. How many does he have?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-20) Answer: 4 axles

A large truck, a 14-wheeler, has 2 wheels on its front axle. Each of the other axles has 4 wheels. How many axles does the truck have?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-19) Answer: 16 golf balls

Jesse was out playing golf last Thursday On the first six holes, he lost 4 golf balls. On the next six holes, he lost one-half of the number of golf balls he had then. On the last six holes, he only lost 2 more golf balls. He finished with 4 golf balls. How many did he start with?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-18) Answer: 41 cans

The Girl Scouts were collecting tin cans to recycle. Helen collected the most cans. Amanda collected 7 cans less than Helen. Alex collected 4 more cans than Amanda. Alex collected 14 cans. How many cans did the three girls collect altogether?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-17) Answer: 8  dozen

Mrs. Green is buying cookies for the class party. She expects that each pupil will eat 4 cookies. How many dozen will she need if there are 24 pupils in the class?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-16) Answer: 4 feet

Jean needs to cut a board into two 3.5 foot pieces. She starts with an 11 foot board. How much of the board will she have left after she makes the cuts?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-15) Answer: 1^st-Moe; 2^nd-Curly; 3^rd-Larry

Larry, Curly, and Moe decided to race up the stairs which have 24 steps. Larry takes the steps 2 at a time while Curly takes the steps 3 at a time while Moe takes the steps 4 at a time. If all three start at the bottom at the same time, who will finish lst? 2nd? 3rd?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-14) Answer: Larry 12 and Curly 6

Larry, Curly, and Moe decided to race up the stairs that have 24 steps. Larry takes the steps 2 at a time while Curly takes the steps 3 at a time while Moe takes the steps 4 at a time. If Moe starts at the bottom, what step should Larry and Curly start on so all three finish in a tie?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-13) Answer: 44 pencils

At the end of the school lday Mr. Howard had 30 pencils in the pencil box. In the morning, he gave 12 pencils to students. At lunch time, he got 6 of them back. He then gave 8 pencils to other students in the afternoon. How many pencils did he start with?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-12) Answer: 3 girls got 10 cents, 1 girl got 15 cents, and the dog owner saved 5 cents

The four girls washed the neighbor's dog for 50 cents. They didn't know how to divide the money, so the dog owner said: "I will give the four of you 4/5 of the total amount. To the first one to tell me how much that is, I will give 1/2 of the other 1/5" .  If someone gave the dog owner the right answer, how did the money get divided up?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-11) Answer: Lisa-8 1/2 minutes; Angie-4 1/4 minutes

Angie and Lisa were taking gymnastics together. One day each of them ran to class from where they lived. Together it took them 12 3/4 minutes. It took Lisa twice as much time as it took Angie. How many minutes did it take each of them to run to class?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-10) Answer: 147 kids were interviewed, 3 liked tennis, 9 liked basketball, 45 liked baseball or softball, and 90 liked soccer best

At school they did a survey of everyone's favorite sport. The survey showed that one third as many kids liked tennis as liked basketball. There were one fifth as many kids who said they liked basketball as said they liked baseball or softball. Then one half as many kids liked baseball or softball as liked soccer. There were 90 kids who liked soccer the best. How many kids did they interview, and how many liked each sport the best?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-9) Answer: 40 hot dogs, 10 ribs, 2 chicken

Sue's great-grandfather was 100! They were celebrating with a big family cookout and Sue was taking orders. She found one fifth as many people wanted chicken as wanted ribs, one fourth as many people wanted ribs as wanted hot dogs, and one half as many people wanted hot dogs as wanted hamburgers. Sue gave her brother, the chef, an order for 80 hamburgers. How many people asked for chicken, how many people asked for ribs, and how many asked for hot-dogs?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-8) Answer: 308

Danielle was the 100th runner across the finish line. Lots of runners finished after Danielle. Here are some clues for the number of runners who finished the race: it is more than 280; it is less than 316; if you count by 4s you say its name; it can be divided evenly by 7. How many runners crossed the finish line?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-7) Answer: 3 pkg. forks; 2 pkg. knives

A package of plastic forks contains 8 forks. A package of plastic knives contains 12 knives. What is the fewest number of packages you would have to buy to have exactly the same number of forks as knives?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-6) Answer: 85 pennies

Sarah has between 50 and 100 pennies in her collection. When she divides them into groups of 2, of 3, or of 7, there is always 1 penny left. How many pennies does Sarah have in her collection?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-5) Answer: 40 students

The number of students on the field trip is greater than 30 but less than 50. When seated 2 in a seat on the bus, no student has to sit alone. When placed in groups of 5 for a tour, all groups are the same size. How many students are on the field trip?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-4) Answer: how many groups of three are in 4

What does 4 divided by 3 mean? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-3) Answer: 1/4

What fraction of the letters in the word multiply are also in the word product?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-2) Answer: 10 handshakes

There are 5 people at a meeting. If each person shakes hands with each of the other once, how many handshakes are exchanged?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

5N-1) Answer: 20 times

How many times would the digit, 2, be written if you wrote down all the whole numbers from 1 to 100?  Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.

Share a problem (thank you) to add to this list and submit to:   donna_buck@pasd.wednet.edu Please title the subject "Problems for 5N" and include the answer.