Math Riddles for Kids—with Answers
36 Math Riddles for Kids—How Many Can You Solve?
Math Riddles for Kids (Image: Mashup Math)
If you are looking for some fun and challenging math riddles for kids, then you’re in the right place! This page shares over 100 math riddles and brain teasers for kids ages 9 and up!
The math riddles are organized by the following categories, and you can use any of the quick links below to jump to a section.
When young learners try to solve challenging math riddles, they gain an opportunity to think about and practice math in a fun way that encourages creative and outside-of-the-box thinking. The more math riddles that your students try to solve (either in the classroom or at home), the more confident and successful problem solvers they will become. Why? Because many of the math riddles for kids included in the free collection below are tricky and challenging, and kids will likely struggle to find an answer right away. However, by sticking with these riddles and taking some time to think deeply and critically about how to solve them, your kids can learn to become more embracing of challenges and less likely to get frustrated when they can not solve a math problem right away.
Use a variety of strategies and creative thinking to solve our math riddles. (Image: Mashup Math FP)
Math Riddles for Kids: Tips for Solving
Before you attempt any of our math riddles for kids, here are some helpful pointers to keep in mind:
Always read each math riddle carefully, identify any key information or vocabulary terms, and think about each problem carefully before you begin your attempt to solve it.
Rather than relying on one method to solve every math riddle, it is better to rely on a “toolbox” of different problem-solving strategies including visualization, diagram drawing, color coding, and trial-and-error or guess-and-check.
Have a growth mindset! While it’s easy to allow yourself to become discouraged when you come across a math riddle that is difficult to solve, it is important to remind yourself that the riddles are designed to be challenging and not easy to solve. Whenever you find yourself struggling or making mistakes, remember that you are in the process of learning and that mistakes are stepping stones to growth!
Whenever you think that you have solved one of the math riddles, ask yourself “does this answer make sense?”. Doing this will help you to see if your solution is valid within the context of the riddle.
If you find yourself feeling super frustrated or if you are stuck on a riddle, we recommend walking away from the problem for a while and engaging in an activity such as going for a walk or playing ping pong. When you come back to the riddle later on, you may be surprised to see that you can think about it differently and eventually find a solution.
Have fun with these math riddles! The whole point of working on math riddles and brain teasers is to have a fun time challenging yourself, so don’t take any of these riddles too seriously and remember to have a good time.
Whenever you and/or your kids are ready to take on some fun math riddles and brain teasers, continue onto the next section and let the fun begin!
Math Riddles for Kids #1-6
Math Riddles for Kids #1: How old is Kai?
1.) When Adam turned 10 years old, his sister, Kai, was half his age. If today is Adam’s 40th birthday, how old is Kai?
2.) Caroline has 24 llamas on her farm. One night, she forgot to lock the gate to the llama pen, and all but 8 ran way. How many llamas did not run away?
3.) A grandmother, two mothers, and two daughters went to a baseball game together and bought one ticket each. What is the fewest number of tickets that would need to be purchased?
4.) How many months have 28 days?
5.) A race car driver passes the car in 2nd place before he crossed the finish line. What place did he finish in?
6.) You probably already know that the expressions 2 + 2 and 2 x 2 are both equal to 4. But, can you find a set of three different whole numbers whose sum and product equal the same number?
Math Riddles for Kids #7-12
Math Riddles for Kids #7: How many total squares are there?
7.) How many total squares are in the diagram below?
8.) How can you add eight eights together so that the total adds up to 1,000?
9.) Jordan collects sneakers. In his collection, all but six pairs are high-tops, all but six pairs are running shoes, and all but six pairs are basketball shoes. How many pairs of sneakers does Jordan have in his collection?
10.) At a zoo, there are kangaroos, giraffes, and tigers. In total, there are 22 heads and 72 feet. If the number of giraffes is equal to the number of tigers, how many of each animal is at the zoo?
11.) There are several classic fiction books on a bookshelf. If Moby Dick is 6th from the left and 8th from the right, how many books are on the shelf?
12.) I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is six more than my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I?
Math Riddles for Kids #13-18
13.) What would be the product if you multiplied all of the numbers on a phone’s dial screen?
14.) What can you put in between the numbers 7 and 8 so that the result is greater than 7, but less than 8?
15.) Which weighs more: one pound of rice or sixteen ounces of gold?
16.) You have two U.S. coins whose total value is $0.30. One of the coins is not a nickel. What are the two coins?
17.) How far can a dog run into the woods?
18.) How can you make the equation below true by moving only one matchstick?
(Hint: There are two different answers)
Math Riddles for Kids #19-24
Math Riddles for Kids #19: How much does each item cost?
19.) The total cost of a boba tea and a sushi roll is $15.00. The sushi roll costs $10 more than the boba tea does. How much does each item cost?
20.) Garrett and Amir are twins. Garrett lives at the reverse of Amir’s house number and the difference between their house numbers ends in two. What are the lowest possible numbers of their houses?
21.) In your sock drawer, you have 12 pink socks, 12 green socks, and 12 white socks. Without looking, how many individual socks would you have to remove from the drawer to guarantee that you will have at least one matched pair?
22.) If I told you that I started with 7, added 6 more, and ended up at 1, how could this be possible?
23.) What number is being covered up by the parked car?
24.) Captain Anne has a chest full of coins.
When she arranges the coins in groups of two, there is one single coin left over. When she arranges the coins in groups of three, five, or six, there is also just one single coin left over. But when she arranges the coins in groups of seven, there are no coins left over.
What is the fewest amount of coins she could have?
Math Riddles for Kids #25-30
Math Riddles for Kids #25: How many handshakes?
25.) If there are 20 people in a room and they each shake each other’s hands once and only once, how many handshakes are there all together?
26.) Christian and Lucas are brothers. Two years ago, Christian was three times as old as Lucas was. Three years from now, Christian will be twice as old as Lucas. How old are Christian and Lucas right now?
27.) A 3x3x3 cube is painted on the outside. If it is broken up into 27 individual 1x1x1 unit cubes, how many of these cubes will have:
A) 3 sides painted?
B) 2 sides painted?
C) 1 side painted?
D) No sides painted?
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
28.) How can you add seven sevens together so that the result is 868?
29.) What is the smallest whole number that is equal to seven times the sum of its digits?
30.) A few playing cards are missing from a standard 52-card deck. Three cards remain when you deal the entire deck to four people. And two cards remain when you deal the entire deck to three people or if you deal the entire deck to five people. How many cards are missing from the deck?
Math Riddles for Kids #31-36
Math Riddles for Kids #31: The Pretzel Rod Problem.
31.) How many you move only two pretzel rods to make seven total squares?
32.) There are 8 watermelons in a pile and you take away 6 of them. How many watermelons do you have?
33.) There are seven donuts with strawberry icing on one side and no icing on the other side.
Starting with all of the donuts facing icing-side-up, all donuts must be turned upside down so that no icing is showing.
If you can only turn over exactly three donuts at a time, what is the smallest number of moves it will take to turn them all over?
Math Puzzle #33
34.) What is the smallest number that increases by 12 when it is flipped and turned upside down?
35.) If you had to write down all of the whole numbers between 1 and 100, how many times would you have to write the number 8?
36.) Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez have three children. Their oldest child is a boy. What is the probability that Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez have three sons?
Bonus Math Riddles for Kids (Extra Tricky)
37.) How many additional blocks are needed to complete the cube in the diagram above?
38.) How can you flip the gummy bear pyramid upside down by moving only three gummy bears?
39.) Two hikers come to a river. At the shore of the river, there is a small boat that can only ferry one person across the river at a time. After ten minutes, both hikers have crossed the river without getting wet. How did they do it?
40.) The Destiny Bridge Riddle:
Four travelers on a quest must cross a fragile bridge to continue their journey.
No individuals can cross the bridge without the Destiny Gem close by, which, fortunately, they have in their possession.
If at any time, more than two individuals walk on the bridge, it will collapse.
Each traveler moves at a different pace, and it will take each traveler the following amount of time to cross the bridge:
Sorceress: 1 minute, Archer: 2 minutes, Warrior: 5 minutes, Wizard: 8 minutes
When two travelers cross the bridge together, they must move at the slower person's pace.
What is the shortest time needed for all four travelers to safely cross the bridge?
Math Riddles Answer Key
1.) Kai is 35 years old (Adam is 5 years older than Kai).
2.) 8 llamas did not run away
3.) 3 tickets
4.) All of them! Every month on the calendar has 28 or more days.
5.) 2nd place (he was in 3rd place before he passed the 2nd place driver).
6.) 1, 2, and 3 (1+2+3=6 and 1x2x3=6)
7.) 14 total squares
8.) 888 + 88 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 1,000
9.) 9 Total (3 hight-tops, 3 running, and 3 basketball)
10.) 7 giraffes, 7 tigers, and 8 kangaroos
11.) 13 books
12.) 193
13.) 0 because 0x1x2x3x4x5x6x7x8x9=0)
14.) A decimal point.
15.) Neither! They both weigh the same (16 ounces = 1 pound)
16.) One quarter and one nickel (only one of the coins is not a nickel!)
17.) Half-way (after that, the dog would be running out of the woods).
18.) 0+4=4 or 8-4=4
19.) The sushi roll costs $12.50 and the boba tea costs $2.50.
20.) 19 and 91
21.) 4 socks (even if you end up with one of each color, the fourth sock would guarantee that you would end up with a matching pair).
22.) 6 + 7 = 1 in terms of time: 7AM + 6 Hours = 1 PM
23.) 87 (hint: turn the diagram upside down!)
24.) 91 coins
25.) 190 handshakes (19+18+17+16+…+3+2+1 = 190)
26.) Christian is 17 and Lucas is 7
27.) A) 8 B) 12 C)6 D) 1
28.) 777 + 77 + 7 + 7 = 868
29.) 21 because 2+1=3 and 7x3=21
30.) 5 cards are missing from the deck
31.) Diagram:
32.) You have 6 watermelons (because you took 6 of them away)
33.) 3 times
Flip any three donuts, leaving four icing-side up
Flip over two more untouched donuts and re-flip one that you turned over last round, leaving three icing-side-up
Flip over three remaining that are icing-side-up
34.) 86
35.) 20 times
36.) 1/4 or 25%
37.) You would need 45 additional blocks to complete the cube.
38.) Gummy Bear Pyramid Answer:
39.) The hikers arrived at the river on opposite sides of each other. One hiker uses the boat the cross the river, and then the other hiker uses the boat to cross as well. Both hikers have now crossed the river (in opposite directions).
Do You Want More Fun Riddles for Kids?
If you and your kids had a fun time working on our math riddles, then they will love our free collection of 101 kid-friendly riddles and brain teasers with topics including joke riddles, animal riddles, sports riddles, space riddles, food riddles, extra tricky riddles, and more!
