E3
Problem solving quiz
Level A
1. You are going out with a friend. The time is 7pm and you have to leave home at 8pm. How
long is it until you need to leave home?
A) 2 hours
B) Half an hour
C) 1 hour
2. There are 10 people waiting for a bus. When the bus arrives it only has room for 6 people.
How many people will have to wait for the next bus?
A) 4
B) 5
C) 6
3. At a shopping centre you buy a pair of socks which cost £2.00 and a top which costs £9.00
How much do you spend in total?
A) £12
B) £11
C) £10
4. A swimming pool is 20 metres long. If you swim 2 lengths how far will you swim?
A) 20 metres
B) 30 metres
C) 40 metres
5. A furniture shop has had a delivery of tables and a delivery of chairs. There are 2 tables and
12 chairs. How many chairs should be matched with each table?
A) 6
B) 8
C) 4
6. 35 people want to park in an office car park but it only has spaces for 25 cars. How many
people cannot park in the car park?
A) 15
B) 5
C) 10
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
7. You go to a cafe and order a cake at 80p and a tea at £1.20. How much do you pay?
A) £1.80
B) £1.60
C) £2.00
8. A gardener needs to replace two lengths of fencing in a garden. He needs 2 lengths
measuring 9 metres each. How much does he need altogether?
A) 16 metres
B) 18 metres
C) 20 metres
9. You need 30 tiles to finish tiling your bathroom wall. The tiles are sold in boxes of 5. How
many boxes will you need to buy?
A) 5
B) 6
C) 10
10. 4 friends go out for a meal. They decide to divide the cost up between them. If they pay £40 in
total how much will each flatmate have to pay?
A) £8
B) £9
C) £10
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
Level B
1. A tree is 3 metres tall and is growing 1 metre each year, how high will it be in 5 years?
A) 4 metres
B) 5 metres
C) 8 metres
2. Nectarines cost 20p more in winter, than in summer. If nectarines cost 65p in summer, how
much would they cost in winter?
A) 45p
B) 85p
C) 80p
3. A pet shop has 50 baby fish which now need to be put into tanks. They have to put 10 fish in
each tank. How many fish tanks do they need?
A) 40
B) 5
C) 10
4. You have been given three boxes of cakes for a party. Each box contains 6 cakes. How many
cakes do you have?
A) 12
B) 16
C) 18
5. The temperature in London is 18°C, while in Manchester it is 15°C. What is the difference in
temperature?
A) 3°
B) 2°
C) 5°
6. A woman walks 2 miles to work each day. How many miles will she walk in 5 days?
A) 7 miles
B) 8 miles
C) 10 miles
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
7. A woman has 9 pieces of jewellery that she would like to give to her 3 children. She would like
to give them the same number of pieces each. How many clocks should she give each child?
A) 2
B) 3
C) 6
8. An ice cream seller in London sells only ice cream cones for £2.00 each. On one afternoon
she sold 50 cones. How much money should she have taken for them?
A) £100
B) £50
C) £52
9. A friend earns £8 an hour. She works for 5 hours one day. How much should she get paid for
that day?
A) £16
B) £32
C) £40
10. A window cleaner calls every 2 weeks. He charges £10 a time. He collects his money every
4 weeks. How much does he expect to be paid after 4 weeks?
A) £20
B) £40
C) £10
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
Level C
1. A club has ordered 10 posters at a total cost to them of £60. How much is the club paying for
each poster?
A) £600
B) £10
C) £6
2. The manager at a sports centre orders 10 baseball caps at a total cost of £20. How much will
the sports centre be paying for each cap?
A) £2
B) £1.00
C) £5
3. An electrical item is on offer for £200 cash. You could also pay in instalments: 10 monthly
payments of £30. How much more do you pay by the instalment method?
A) £170
B) £100
C) £200
4. In a survey of 400 people, half said they could ride a bike. How many said they could ride a
bike?
A) 100
B) 300
C) 200
5. In a quiz you score 5 for a correct answer and -1 for a wrong answer. What would be the
score for 6 correct answers and 1 wrong answer?
A) 31
B) 30
C) 29
6. A club trip has been organised. If 4 people are travelling together in a car, how many cars will
be needed for 21 people?
A) 4 cars
B) 5 cars
C) 6 cars
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
7. An exercise machine costs £80 by mail order. If it can be paid for in 5 equal instalments, what
will be the amount of each instalment?
A) £16.00
B) £12.00
C) £8
8. There are 580 bottles of lemonade in a warehouse. An order comes in for 35 bottles. How
many bottles will be left in the warehouse after the order has been met?
A) 545
B) 555
C) 550
9. The ingredients for 40 small buns include 400g butter. What amount of butter would you need
for 20 small buns?
A) 100g butter
B) 200g butter
C) 150g butter
10. You are going away with a group of friends. The total cost for each person will be £150. Once
your £50 deposit has been paid you pay the remainder in 5 equal instalments. How much will
each instalment be?
A) £10
B) £20
C) £30
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
Answers
Level A
1. You are going out with a friend. The time is 7pm and you have to leave home at 8pm. How
long is it until you need to leave home?
The correct answer is: C. 1 hour. The calculation is 8 – 7 = 1
2. There are 10 people waiting for a bus. When the bus arrives it only has room for 6 people.
How many people will have to wait for the next bus?
The correct answer is: A. 4. The calculation is 10 – 6 = 4.
3. At a shopping centre you buy a pair of socks which cost £2.00 and a top which costs £9.00
How much do you spend in total?
The correct answer is: B. £11. The sum is 2 + 9 = 11. You spend a total of £11 on clothing.
4. A swimming pool is 20 metres long. If you swim 2 lengths how far will you swim?
The correct answer is: C. 40 metres. The calculation is 20 + 20 = 40 or 2 × 20. You will swim
40 metres.
5. A furniture shop has had a delivery of tables and a delivery of chairs. There are 2 tables and
12 chairs. How many chairs should be matched with each table?
The correct answer is: A. 6. The sum is 12 ÷ 2 = 6. Six chairs need to be matched with each
table.
6. 35 people want to park in an office car park but it only has spaces for 25 cars. How many
people cannot park in the car park?
The correct answer is: C. 10. The sum is 35 – 25 = 10. 10 people cannot park in the car park.
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
7. You go to a cafe and order a cake at 80p and a tea at £1.20. How much do you pay?
The correct answer is: C. £2.00. The sum is 80p + £1.20 = £2.00. You will pay £2.00
8. A gardener needs to replace two lengths of fencing in a garden. He needs 2 lengths
measuring 9 metres each. How much does he need altogether?
The correct answer is: B. 18 metres. The calculation is 9 + 9 = 18 metres.
9. You need 30 tiles to finish tiling your bathroom wall. The tiles are sold in boxes of 5. How
many boxes will you need to buy?
The correct answer is: B. 6. The sum is 30 ÷ 5 = 6.
10. 4 friends go out for a meal. They decide to divide the cost up between them. If they pay £40 in
total how much will each flatmate have to pay?
The correct answer is: C. £10. £40 shared between 4 means that they will each need to pay
£10. The sum is 40 ÷ 4 = 10.
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
Level B
1. A tree is 3 metres tall and is growing 1 metre each year, how high will it be in 5 years?
The correct answer is: C. 8 m. The height of the tree after 3 years will be 8 m.
2. Nectarines cost 20p more in winter, than in summer. If nectarines cost 65p in summer, how
much would they cost in winter?
The correct answer is: B. 85p. The calculation is 65 + 20 = 85. Nectarines will cost 85p in
winter.
3. A pet shop has 50 baby fish which now need to be put into tanks. They have to put 10 fish in
each tank. How many fish tanks do they need?
The correct answer is: B. 5. The sum is 50 ÷ 10 = 5.
4. You have been given three boxes of cakes for a party. Each box contains 6 cakes. How many
cakes do you have?
The correct answer is: C. 18. The calculation is 3 × 6 = 18.
5. The temperature in London is 18°C, while in Manchester it is 15°C. What is the difference in
temperature?
The correct answer is: A. 3°. The calculation is 18 − 15 = 3.
6. A woman walks 2 miles to work each day. How many miles will she walk in 5 days?
The correct answer is: C. 10 miles. The calculation is 2 × 5 = 10 miles.
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
7. A woman has 9 pieces of jewellery that she would like to give to her 3 children. She would like
to give them the same number of pieces each. How many clocks should she give each child?
The correct answer is: B. 3. The calculation is 9 ÷ 3 = 3.
8. An ice cream seller in London sells only ice cream cones for £2.00 each. On one afternoon
she sold 50 cones. How much money should she have taken for them?
The correct answer is: A. £100. The sum is 50 × 2 = 100.
9. A friend earns £8 an hour. She works for 5 hours one day. How much should she get paid for
that day?
The correct answer is: C. £40. The calculation is 5 × 8 = £40.
10. A window cleaner calls every 2 weeks. He charges £10 a time. He collects his money every 4
weeks. How much does he expect to be paid after 4 weeks?
The correct answer is: A. £20. In 4 weeks, he would have cleaned the windows twice
(4 ÷ 2 = 2). He charges £10 every time he cleans the windows so he would expect 2 lots of
£10. £10 × 2 = £20.
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
Level C
1. A club has ordered 10 posters at a total cost to them of £60. How much is the club paying for
each poster?
The correct answer is: C. £6. The calculation is £60 ÷ 10 = £6
2. The manager at a sports centre orders 10 baseball caps at a total cost of £20. How much will
the sports centre be paying for each cap?
The correct answer is: A. £2. £20 divided by 10 = £2.
3. An electrical item is on offer for £200 cash. You could also pay in instalments: 10 monthly
payments of £30. How much more do you pay by the instalment method?
The correct answer is: B. £100. The cost by instalments is 10 × 30 = £300.
£300 – £200 = £100 more.
4. In a survey of 400 people, half said they could ride a bike. How many said they could ride a
bike?
The correct answer is: C. 200. 400 people were surveyed and half of 400 is 200.
5. In a quiz you score 5 for a correct answer and -1 for a wrong answer. What would be the
score for 6 correct answers and 1 wrong answer?
The correct answer is: C. 29. There was 6 × 5 = 30 in total scored for correct answers. There
was -1 for the wrong answer. This needs to be taken off the score for the correct answers.
So 30 – 1 = 29.
© BBC 2011
E3
Problem solving quiz
6. A club trip has been organised. If 4 people are travelling together in a car, how many cars will
be needed for 21 people?
The correct answer is: C. 6 cars. The calculation is 21 ÷ 4 = 5 remainder 1. So you need
6 cars to fit everyone in.
7. An exercise machine costs £80 by mail order. If it can be paid for in 5 equal instalments, what
will be the amount of each instalment?
The correct answer is: A. £16. The sum is £80 ÷ 5 = £16
8. There are 580 bottles of lemonade in a warehouse. An order comes in for 35 bottles. How
many bottles will be left in the warehouse after the order has been met?
The correct answer is: A. 545. The calculation is 580 – 35 = 545 bottles left.
9. The ingredients for 40 small buns include 400g butter. What amount of butter would you need
for 20 small buns?
The correct answer is: B. 200g butter. 20 is half of 40, so you need half as much butter.
Half of 400g is 200g. You need 200g of butter.
10. You are going away with a group of friends. The total cost for each person will be £150. Once
your £50 deposit has been paid you pay the remainder in 5 equal instalments. How much will
each instalment be?
The correct answer is: B. £20. If you take the £50 deposit from the total cost of £150, that
leaves £100 to pay. £100 divided by 5 = £20.
© BBC 2011