PROBLEM

SOLVING
Set C
Compiled by members of the TEAM project
"Teaching Excellence and Mathematics"

Department of Public Instruction

301 N. Wilmington Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-2825
Michael E. Ward, Superintendent

Original funding through D. D. Eisenhower

Mathematics and Science Education Program

There are many commercial resources

available to challenge students to
become better problem solvers. This is
a collection of some of our favorite
problems.
You might consider allowing students
to work with partners. Many of these
problems are best solved with
calculators. All of these problems lend
themselves to students telling and writing about their thinking.
Consider expanding this problem
solving deck by adding your own
problems on the backs of the cards or
photocopying the blank master we
have included for you.
We hope you will share your great
problems with us. Send them to :
Mathematics Section
Department of Public Instruction
301 N. Wilmington St.
Raleigh, NC 27601-2825

Problem
Solving Strategies
1. Act out the problem
2. Use models and
manipulatives
3. Make a picture or a
diagram
4. Make a table or chart
5. Make an organized list
6. Work backwards
7. Use logical reasoning;
deduction
8. Guess and check
9. Use or look for a
pattern
10. Solve a simpler
problem
11. Write an equation
12. Brainstorm ideas

There are many commercial

resources available to challenge
students to become better
problem solvers. This is a
collection of some of our favorite
problems.
You might consider allowing students to work with partners. Many
of these problems are best solved
with calculators. All of these
problems lend themselves to students telling and writing about
their thinking.
Consider expanding this problem
solving deck by adding your own
problems on the backs of the cards
or photocopying the blank masters
we have included for you. We
hope you will share your great
problems with us. Send them to
Jeane Joyner at the address on the
back of this card.

Create a Mystery Operation and

supply the first three input and output
terms and ask for three more
examples. Give your mystery
operation to a friend to complete the
table and ask the friend to explain
your rule. For example, you might
set up a table like this:
INPUT

OUTPUT

2
6
4
7
9
3

25
57
41
??
??
??

Michael parks his car from 11:30

a.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the StayU-Pay parking lot. How much
will he owe the parking attendant
if he pays the least expensive
rate?

STAY-U-PAY
First Hour
$ 0.75
Each Additional Hour
$0.60
Daily Rate (Over 6 Hours) $3.00

If n is the input number, then the

output is found by multiplying n by
8 and adding 9: 8n + 9.

Card 1

Set C

Card 2

Set C

Tyrone was born 62 months

before Michael. Alba was
born 11 months after
Michael, in March 1981.
What are the birth months
and years for the three
friends?

Card 3

Set C

Card 4

Set C

Describe how to fold this

"map" so that the numbered
sections lie on top of each other
in order from 1 to 8.

Card 5

At BizBiz Pizza the token

machine takes one-dollar and
five-dollar bills. The owner of
Biz Biz knows that kids will
want to come back if they have
tokens left over.
Devise a plan to determine how
many tokens can be purchased
with one- and five-dollar bills
plus how many tokens each
game requires to be played.
Explain why you think your
plan would be likely to leave
kids with extra tokens.

Set C

Card 6

Set C

Find the sum.

23 + 25 + 27 + 23 + 25 + 27 +

Ten people met at a party.

They all exchanged
handshakes. How many
handshakes were exchanged?

23 + 25 + 27 + 23 + 25 + 27 +
23 + 25 + 27 + 23 + 25 + 27

Explain three different ways

to solve this problem.

How many different segments

can be named using the labeled
points as end points? List them.

C D

Are these problems related?

Card 7

Set C

Card 8

Set C

Place the first six counting

numbers in the circles so that
the sum on each side of the
triangle is 9.

Bobs Super Ball bounces

exactly half the height from
which it is dropped. He drops
the ball from the top of a building
that is 64 meters tall. How high
will the ball bounce on its 7th
bounce?

Is it possible to use the numbers

4 to 9 to make the sum of each
side the same?
Card 9

Set C

Card 10

Set C

What is the area of each black

and white piece if the whole
square measures 20 cm on
each side? Explain how you
got your answer.

The cost of making money

varies from coin to coin:
Pennies
Nickels
Dimes
Quarters
Half dollars

0.8 cents each

2.9 cents each
1.7 cents each
3.7 cents each
7.8 cents each

What is the cost of making

$5.00 worth of each coin?
With a partner, prepare a
presentation to discuss this
task: Your office has been
directed to eliminate the
minting of one kind of coin.
What is your proposal?
Card 11

Set C

Card 12

Set C

Which digit (0-9) occurs most

often on a calendar for this
month. Which occurs least
often? Is the answer the same
for every month of this year?

Card 13

Set C

Which is correct more of the

time: a watch that doesnt work
at all, or a watch that loses one
minute each hour?

Card 14

Set C

Color this square so that onehalf is green, one-third is

yellow and and the rest is
brown. Each triangle should
be just one color. Make any
pattern you like. How much
of the square is brown?

Card 15

Set C

What information about the

people in this room would
fit these graphs? Title and
label the graphs.

Card 16

Set C

The answer is A and C. What is

the question? Write a question
with a different answer.

Eight one-inch cubes are put

together to make a T. If
the complete figure is painted
blue, how many cubes have
exactly four blue faces?

A
.
B
.
C
.
D
.

How are the remaining

cubes painted?

E
.

Card 17

Set C

Card 18

Set C

The first term of an arithmetic

sequence is 4 and the 10th
term is 58. List the first 10
terms of the sequence. What
if the first term is 9 and the
10th term is 90? What would
the sequence be?

Card 19

Set C

If the first day of a certain month

is Thursday, what day of the
week is the 21st day of the
same month? On what day of
the month will the 17th day be?
If the first day of a new year
falls on a Monday, what day of
the week will February 14 fall
on?

Card 20

Set C

A lizard is 100 feet away from

the tree he wanted to climb. At
the end of the first minute he
has traveled half of the distance
to the tree. At the end of the
second minute he has traveled
half of the remaining distance.
At the end of the third minute
he has traveled half of that
remaining distance.

Crack the code:

If

=2

and

= 72

Fill in the blanks.

How long will it take him to
reach the tree if he continues
this pattern of travel?

=
=

Card 21

Set C

Card 22

Set C

If you continue this pattern:

ababbabbbabbbb. . .
what will be the 100th letter?

What is the greatest number of

4-inch by 6-inch rectangular
pieces of glass, for inserting
into picture frames, that can be
cut from a rectangular sheet of
glass that measures 2 feet by 4
feet?

Which number does not

belong:
1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 16? Explain your
answer.

Can you justify more than

one possible response?

Card 23

Set C

Card 24

Set C

A book has 600 pages which

are numbered 1, 2, 3 and so on.
How many times does the digit
5 appear in the page numbers?

There are 16 toothpicks in

this design. Remove four
toothpicks so that only four
congruent triangles remain.

The sum of two page numbers

is 325. When you open the
book at these pages, what is the
page number of the right hand
page?

Card 25

Set C

Card 26

Set C

Debra bought five pieces of gold

chain with four links in each piece
to make a necklace
If a jeweler charges $3 to open a
link and $4 to close a link what
should she ask the jeweler to do in
order to pay the smallest amount
to make her necklace?

30 = 1, 31 = 3, 32 = 9, 33 = 27,
34 = 81, ...
These products have 1, 3, 9,
and 7, respectively, in the ones
place. If you compute 315,
what number will be in the
ones place?
Is there a similar pattern for
40, 41, 42, 43, 44 ?
If so, what is the digit in the
one's place for 420 ?

Card 27

Set C

Card 28

Set C

George bought a Christmas tree

to put in his living room. He
paid $50 for the tree. After he
took it home, he realized it was
too tall and sold it to his neighor
for $60. His neighbor put lights
on the tree and then decided the
tree was too wide for the room.
George looked at the tree again
and offered to buy the tree back
for $70. George cut two feet off
the bottom of the tree and when
he stood it up, he was no longer
pleased with the tree. He sold it
for $80 to another neighbor.
What was Georges financial
outcome from this venture?

Card 29

Set C

A 3 x 3 x 5 cm rectangular
prism is painted orange on all
sides. Draw the figure.
If the prism is cut into one cm
cubes, how many cubes are
there? How many of the small
cubes are painted orange on
six faces? five faces? four
faces? three faces? two faces?
one face? no faces?

Card 30

Set C

Bobs
Bicycle
Shop
assembled some tricycles and
go-carts. The total number of
tricycles and go-carts was 30
and Bob used 103 wheels in
all. How many go-carts did
Bob make?

Card 31

Set C

Working alone, Johnny can

build a model airplane in two
hours. It takes Sherry three
hours to complete a similar
model. How long would it
take Johnny and Sherry
working together to complete
an airplane?

Card 32

Set C

Bill and Rosa have only nickels

and dimes. Rosa has 75 cents
and Bill has 90 cents. Each has
the same number of coins and
Bill has the same number of
dimes as Rosa has nickels. How
many nickels does Rosa have?

While writing the date 6/15/90

(June 15, 1990), James noticed
that the month (6) times the day
(15) equalled the year (90).
There are four other dates in
1990 that fit this equation. Find
and list them.
What do Bastille Day and
Christmas Eve in any year have
in common? How many dates
fit this pattern?

Card 33

Set C

Card 34

Set C

Find a shortcut for computing

the sum 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11
+ 13 + 15 + 17 = ?? Explain
your shortcut and how you
could use this same shortcut to
find the sum of all the odd
numbers from 45 to 99.

What is missing in this

pattern?

2 4 6
10
,
,
,
5 10 15
25
Explain how you got your
answer.

Replace each
with an
operation symbol to make the
following statement true:

Card 35

Set C

100 = 1

Card 36

Set C

How many people must be

gathered together to be certain
that two people of the group have
birthdays that fall in the same
month? Why?

Card 37

Set C

How old will you be, in

days, on January 1, 2002?

Card 38

Set C

Michael Jordan, James

Worthy, Scott Williams, Brad
Daugherty and Sam Perkins
all played basketball at UNCChapel Hill. If they play in a
one-on-one tournament, how
many games would have to
be played for every player to
play the others once?

Draw a rectangle whose

perimeter (in linear units) is
greater than its area (in
square units). Label the
rectangle.

What is the least number of

tacks you need to display
six rectangular pictures of
the same size and shape so
that they can all be seen?
You must tack every corner.

Card 39

Set C

Card 40

Set C

Lauras favorite clothes are five

sweaters, four skirts, three
jackets, two pairs of shoes and
one belt. How many ways can
Laura wear her favorite clothes
without repeating the exact
outfit?

Card 41

Set C

Emily's dad pays her for picking

strawberries. Each hour she
works he increases her pay. The
first hour she earns two cents,
the second hour four cents, the
third hour eight cents, and so
on, doubling the amount each
hour. How much money will
she earn if she works six hours?
How much money will she earn
after ten hours? How many
hours will she need to work to
earn at least $5.00?

Card 42

Set C

Rick, Maria, and Bob have

less than 20 tickets for rides at
the fair. Rick has more tickets
than Maria, and Maria has
more than Bob.
Rick gives Bob 3 tickets and
Maria gives Bob 2 tickets.
Then they all have the same
number of tickets for rides.
How many tickets did each
person start with?

The average of 5 numbers is

28. What would the 6th
number have to be to bring
the average up to 30?
Annas average in math is 92.
She wants to raise her average
to 93 so she will make an A.
She is taking a test on Friday.
What score will she have to
make on the test to raise her
average to 93? Do you have
sufficient information to solve
this problem?
If yes, what is the score? If
no, supply any data you need
to answer the questions.

Card 43

Set C

Card 44

Set C

On a math test, students score

10 points for every correct
answer. One point is deducted
for each incorrect answer. If
your score is 45, what could
your answers (right and
wrong) have been?

Card 45

Set C

The Jones family took a 600

mile trip to the mountains last
spring and averaged 50 miles
per hour on the trip. On the
return trip they averaged 55
miles per hour. What was the
average speed for the entire
trip? What information do you
need to have to solve other
problems like this? Explain
your answers.

Card 46

Set C

Find all the numbers that divide

100 with a remainder of 4. What
is the largest two-digit divisor
that can divide 100 and still have
a remainder of 4?

Can anyone make the claim

I was X years old
in the year X2?"
Explain.

Find all the numbers that divide

216 with a remainder of 6.

Card 47

Set C

Card 48

Set C

One section of a book contains

six pages. The sum of all the
page numbers in the section is
525. What are the page
numbers?

Card 49

Set C

A camping club took a ten-day

camping trip in the mountains.
Twelve people signed up for
the trip. The club members
purchased supplies for the 12
hikers with the understanding
that supplies would be divided
equally among the twelve on a
daily basis. On the morning the
hike was to begin, three
additional people joined the
group but no new provisions
were purchased. How long will
the supplies last if all 15 hikers
receive equal daily supplies?
Explain your reasoning.

Card 50

Set C

Place the numbers 0 - 5 in the

boxes so there are no lines
connecting consecutive
numbers.

Card 51

Set C

Joeys little sister must take

four steps for every three
steps Joey takes. Suppose
one step of Joeys covers one
foot. How many feet would
his little sister cover when
she has taken 12 steps?

Card 52

Set C

At The Pizza Emporium, pizzas

are sold by the slice or by the
entire pizza. They are trying to
decide how to price their 14"
pepperoni pizza. How would
you complete the chart? Justify
your answer.

One
slice

Card 53

1-3
pizzas

4 or more
pizzas

Set C

Which 3-digit numbers,

whose digits are 6, 7, and 8,
are evenly divisible by 8?

How is the divisibility test

for 9 helpful in remembering
the multiplication facts for
9?

Card 54

Set C

The page numbers of a book are

numbered consecutively 1 to
300. How many page numbers
meet these conditions:
1.

The page numbers have the

digit 5 and are also divisible by 5.

2.

The page numbers contain

the digit 5 but are not divisible by 5.

3.

The page numbers do not

have a 5 but are divisible
by 5.

Card 55

Set C

The club house is a rectangle

that is 25' by 40' in size. The
officers voted to put a 6-foot
sidewalk all around the building, leaving a 2-foot space
for plants between the building and the sidewalk.
Draw the sketch they might
have used to explain their plan
and give the perimeter of the
outer edge of the sidewalk
and the area of the sidewalk
itself.

Card 56

Set C

Assume that the sides of

triangles are limited to
whole-number measures.
How many different
triangles have a perimeter
of 12? What kinds of triangles
are they? Explain how you
determined this.

The boundary of a skating

rink is formed a 200-foot

<

>
200 feet

Card 57

Set C

Card 58

Set C

The cube below was made by putting together 27 small cubes. The large cube was
then dropped into a bucket of blue paint.
The cube was removed from the paint and
allowed to dry. After the paint dried, the
large cube was taken apart again.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How many small cubes had blue paint

on three faces?
How many of the small cubes were blue
on only two faces?
How many small cubes had paint on
exactly one face?
How many small cubes did not have
any paint on them?
How many faces are painted?

Card 59

Set C

A.

Using exactly 50 coins,

how can you make
change for a dollar bill?

B.

If you have 11 coins,

what are the possible
amounts of money you
could have?

Card 60

Set C

If the enrollment of a school is

400, will there always be at
least two students in the school
whose birthdays fall on the
same day of the year? Why or
why not?

Week #

1
2
3
4

Letters
This Week

8
8
8
8

Total
Letters

8
16
?
?

What would this table look like

for the first eight weeks?
How many letters were received
by the 100th week?
When had 500 letters been
received?

Card 61

Set C

Card 62

Set C

Valentine candy bars were sold

for $0.50. After the holiday they
were marked down for quick sale
and the whole lot sold for $31.93.
What was the reduced price of
the candy bars?

Card 63

Set C

Card 64

Set C

Card 65

Set C

Card 66

Set C