Weekly Rich Open Problems for Mathematical Problem Solving Grade 5

Bruce Williams. CreatingRealMathematicians.com

Problem Solving 1

You are buying a box of chocolates for your family, but you want to make sure there are enough chocolates for everyone to have 6 chocolates each with none left over. 

Draw the possible chocolate box arrays that you could purchase.

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

Problem Solving 2

You have been asked to assist the police solve a robbery crime. 

They know there were a total of 20 notes stolen consisting of $100's, $10's and $1's. 

How much could have been stolen?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

Problem Solving 3

The big Toy Store sale is on.

The items on sale are:

Board games: $5.25

Video Games: $15.67

Soft toys: $12.99

Sport Balls: $10.50

You are allowed to purchase between 3 and 7 of three of these items and calculate the total cost.

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

Problem Solving 4

Did you know that the white spots on domino's are called pips? 

Figure out the number of pips in a box of (0-6) domino's without using any domino's.

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 5

Exemplar "Camping". Differentiated best of Math 1

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 6

Dan played 3 games of marbles. In the 1st game, he lost 1/2 of his marbles. In the 2nd game he won 4 marbles. 

In the 3rd game, he doubled his number of marbles. 

He finished with 32 marbles. 

How many marbles did Dan start with?

Can you solve this problem in more than one way?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 7

A teacher promised her class a pizza party. 

She would like to figure out what it would cost. 

Each of the 24 students in her class will eat 2 pieces of pizza. 

A small pizza with 6 slices costs $12.95 and a large pizza with 8 slices costs $13.95. 

How many pizzas should she order? How much will this cost?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 8

 

Katie and Amy went shoe shopping this week. 

They each found a cool pair of shoes to buy. 

The shoe store was having a special sale: buy 1 pair and get the 2nd pair at 1/2 price. 

Katie's pair of shoes cost $50 and Amy's cost $35.

If Katie and Amy buy their shoes together in order to get the discount, how much should each person pay? 

What is fair?

Explain your answer and explain why you chose the answer that you did.

Note: It is understood in this type of a sale that you pay full price for the more expensive item.

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 9

 

Mum bought a box of chocolates for us to share.

Mum ate 1/3 of the box, Dad ate 1/4 of the box, my sister ate 1/8 of the box and I ate the remainder.

How many chocolates did I eat?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

  

Problem Solving 10

Me and 4 friends went camping. We took 4 pizzas for dinner. How much does each person get if we share the pizzas fairly?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

Problem Solving 11

Open Response. Assessment Handbook P. 179

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 12

On Saturday I picked the remaining carrots from my garden. I had 42 carrots in a paper bag on my porch.

 Well, it did not take long for a family of raccoons to discover my carrots!! 

When the 1st raccoon finished eating, there were 37 carrots left in the bag. 

When the 2nd raccoon finished nibbling, there were only 32 carrots left in the bag. 

The 3rd raccoon ate until there were exactly 27 carrots left in the bag. 

If the raccoons kept eating in this way, how many carrots did I find in the bag after the 7th raccoon had eaten? 

How can you be sure?

Show me your work and explain how you figured this out using as much math language as possible.

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 13

The recipe for Fruit Punch.

2 1/2 cups Orange juice

1 1/3 cups Pineapple Juice

1/4 cup sugar

1 3/4 cups Soda

This makes enough for 5 people.

 

You need to make enough Fruit Punch for your class. How much of each ingredient will you need?

 

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

Problem Solving 14

I bought 5 different candies to make bags of candy for my birthday to give to my friends.

I counted the candies and wrote down the amounts.

M&M's: 472

Skittles: 253

JellyBeans: 131

BubbleGum: 72

SourPatch: 47

 ow many of each do I put into each bag so everyone gets the same amount?

How many are left over?

 

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

Problem Solving 15

 I made a phone call from my Mum after I had been for a walk as I was lost. She asked where I had been and I told her the following:

I left home and walked 5 blocks up. 

Then I turned Right and walked 4 blocks along. 

I then turned Left and walked another 5 blocks. 

I then made a Left turn and walked 6 blocks. 

I then tuned Left again and walked 2 blocks. 

Then I turned Left and walked 2 blocks. 

Finally I turned Right and walked 9 blocks.

 How far from my home was I?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 16

The zoo is making an enclosure for their new Australian animals. 

They are getting 5 Kangaroos, 3 Wombats, 7 Koalas, 3 Tasmanian Devils and 4 Goanas.

Each animal needs the following space: Kangaroos: 10 square yards each, Wombats: 2 square yards each, Koalas: 1.5 square yards each, Tasmanian Devils: 3 square yards each and Goanas require 1 square yard each. 

How big will the total enclosure need to be, and how much fencing will be needed for the enclosure?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

Problem Solving 17

At the Vets the other day the vet told me that his dog weighs the same as 4 cats. 

Each cat weighs the same as 10 hamsters.

Each hamster weighs the same as 5 canaries.

Each canarie weighs the same as 4 goldfish. 

The goldfish weighs 20 grams. How much does the dog weigh?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

Problem Solving 18

 We were ordering pizzas for dinner. 

The 12 inch radius pizza costs $15.00. 

The 6 inch radius pizza costs $7.00. 

Which is the better value?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 19

When I jumped into the swimming pool the water went up 2 cm.. 

The dog jumped in and it went up 1/2 cm. 

Mum jumped in and it went up 4 cm. 

The pool can go up 14 cm before spilling over. 

How many kids, animals and adults can jump into the pool without it spilling over the top.

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words

 

Problem Solving 20

The farmer wentout to the Chicken Coup to see where all the noise was coming from. 

The foxes had got into the chickens yard. 

Foxes and chickens were running everywhere. 

The farmer could count 8 heads and 22 legs. 

How many chickens and how many foxes were in the chicken coup?

Solve using Pictures / Numbers / Words