40 math trivia questions with answers
Number, fraction, shape and algebra questions with worked answers. Use the explanations to check the method as well as the result.
Updated
What is 17 + 26?
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43
17 + 20 + 6 = 43.
What is 90 − 37?
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53
90 − 30 − 7 = 53.
What is 8 × 7?
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56
Eight groups of seven total 56.
What is 144 ÷ 12?
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12
12 × 12 = 144.
What is half of three quarters?
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Three eighths
3/4 × 1/2 = 3/8.
Write one fifth as a decimal.
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0.2
1 ÷ 5 = 0.2.
What is 15% of 200?
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30
0.15 × 200 = 30.
A price rises from 40 to 50. What is the percentage increase?
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25%
The increase is 10; 10 ÷ 40 × 100 = 25.
What is the square root of 81?
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9
9 × 9 = 81.
What is 2 to the fifth power?
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32
2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 32.
What is the perimeter of a square with side 6 cm?
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24 cm
Four sides × 6 cm = 24 cm.
What is the area of a rectangle 8 cm by 3 cm?
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24 square centimetres
8 × 3 = 24.
What is the mean of 4, 7 and 10?
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7
(4 + 7 + 10) ÷ 3 = 7.
What is the median of 2, 3, 9, 11 and 20?
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9
The middle entry of the ordered list is 9.
Which appears most often in 4, 5, 4, 7, 4, 5?
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4
Four appears three times.
Solve 3x + 2 = 17.
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x = 5
Subtract 2 then divide by 3.
What is the next number in 3, 6, 12, 24 if each term doubles?
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48
24 × 2 = 48.
How many minutes are in two and a half hours?
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150
2.5 × 60 = 150.
How many sides do three separate triangles have altogether?
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9
3 × 3 = 9.
How many degrees remain from a straight angle after 65 degrees?
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115 degrees
180 − 65 = 115.
What is 0.6 + 0.25?
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0.85
60 hundredths + 25 hundredths = 85 hundredths.
What is 5 factorial?
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120
5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120.
How many ways can three distinct books be arranged?
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6
3 × 2 × 1 = 6.
A bag contains 3 red and 2 blue counters. What fraction are blue?
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Two fifths
2 of the 5 counters are blue.
What is the least common multiple of 6 and 8?
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24
6 × 4 and 8 × 3 both equal 24.
What is the greatest common divisor of 18 and 24?
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6
The shared positive divisors are 1, 2, 3 and 6.
How many edges does a cube have?
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12
Four top edges, four bottom edges and four joining edges.
What is the volume of a cube with side 3 cm?
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27 cubic centimetres
3 × 3 × 3 = 27.
What is −4 + 9?
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5
Start at −4 and move nine places right.
What is −3 × −6?
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18
The product of two negatives is positive.
What is 7 squared minus 4 squared?
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33
49 − 16 = 33.
What is 2/3 + 1/6?
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5/6
4/6 + 1/6 = 5/6.
What is 3/4 divided by 1/2?
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3/2, or 1.5
3/4 × 2 = 6/4.
What is the sum of the first five positive integers?
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15
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15.
How many two-digit numbers end in 0?
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9
10 through 90, in steps of 10.
A 120 km trip takes 3 hours. What is the average speed?
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40 km/h
120 ÷ 3 = 40.
A rectangle has area 36 and width 4. What is its length?
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9
36 ÷ 4 = 9.
What is 3 cubed?
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27
3 × 3 × 3 = 27.
What is the sum of 0.125 and 0.875?
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1
125 thousandths + 875 thousandths = 1000 thousandths.
Round 7.46 to one decimal place.
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7.5
The hundredths digit is 6, so the tenths digit rounds up.
Plan the round and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
These are adjustable house rules. Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team 1: 0
Team 2: 0
Use this set with a group
Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.