Mathilde Lacombe

Developing intelligence and cognitive skills is essential during any phase of life. There are many ways to introduce brain-boosting activities into your daily routine, including riddles and brain teasers. By participating in regular math riddles, you can enhance many skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, pattern or sequence recognition, and systematic thinking.

One way to help your child develop these skills early on is to introduce them to easy riddles for kids. If they are engaged and entertained with these brain puzzles, not only will you be helping them strengthen these core cognitive skills, but you will also foster a love of learning.

30 Easy Math Riddles for Younger Kids

You do not have to look any further to find some engaging math riddles to challenge your kids with each day. These brain puzzles are terrific options to play while driving in the car, making dinner, or just spending some time together.

Take a look at the easy riddles listed below and see how your child fares with their answers.

1. If you have 1 pound of cotton and 1 pound of iron, which will weigh more?
   • Neither of them, since both will weigh exactly 1 pound.

2. 7 is an odd number, how can you make it even without adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing any numbers?
   • Remove the letter S from the word SEVEN = EVEN

3. You have 8 apples. You take away 4 apples, then give one back. How many apples do you have now?
   • 8 – 4 -1 = 3

4. Which month of the year has 28 days?
   • All of them have 28 (or more)

5. There are 4 apples. You take 3 apples away. How many apples do you have now?
   • 3, since you took 3 apples from the original group of 4.

6. How many sides does a circle have?
   • The outside and the inside.

7. If you multiply this number with any other number, you will always get the same number. What is it?
   • 0 since any number multiplied by 0 is always 0.

8. Which number always goes up but never comes down?
   • Your age. It always increases but never decreases.

9. A farmer has 19 cows. All of them but 7 died. How many are left?
   • 7, since all the others died.

10. Kate’s mom has 3 kids. They are Snap, Crackle, and?
    • Kate! It is Kate’s mom we are talking about.

11. How many times can you subtract the number 4 from the number 24?
    • Only once, since after the first subtraction, the number becomes 20, then 16, and so on.

12. How do you make this question true 81 x 9 = 801?
    • Turn your paper upside down. 108 = 6 x 18

13. You have a basket of 10 apples and 10 friends. You give 1 apple to each of your friends, but there is still an apple in the basket. How come?
    • Because the last person to receive an apple got it in the basket.

14. There are 2 fathers and 2 sons fishing. Each of them catches 1 fish, but at the end of the day, there are only 3 fish. How come?
    • Because it is a trio made up of a Grandfather, Father, and Son. Both of the Grandfather and Father are fathers, and both the Father and Son are sons.

15. You have an empty basket that measures 16 inches in diameter. You have an empty basket that measures 16 inches in diameter. How many eggs that measure 4 inches in diameter can you put into the empty basket?
    • Only 1, then the basket is not empty any longer.

16. You have a coin and have flipped it 4 times. Each time it has landed on Heads. What are the odds that the 5^th flip will be heads also?
    • 50/50 since the odds do not change based on previous flips.

17. Andrew has 4 sons, and each of them has 1 sister. How many children does Andrew have altogether?
    • 5, since all the sons share the 1 sister. 4 + 1 = 5.

18. If you had to write down a number between 1 and 10, what are the chances that the number would be an odd number?
    • 50% chance since there are only odd and even numbers.

19. When is it possible to add 2 to 11 and get 1 as the result?
    • When you add 2 to 11:00 and get 1:00 as the outcome.

20. If Joan has 3 kids and the oldest is a girl, what are the chances that the youngest is a girl also?
    • 50/50, since the odds of a girl child, do not change based on previous children.

21. Angela has a very large family. She has 20 aunts, 20 uncles, and 40 cousins. Each of her cousins has an aunt that is not Angela’s aunt. How is that possible?
    • Their aunt is Angela’s mom.

22. What 3 numbers can be added together and multiplied together and still give you the same answer?
    • 1, 2, 3. 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. 1 x 2 x 3 = 6.

23. What can you put in between the numbers 5 and 6 so that the result is greater than 5 but less than 6?
    • A decimal point. 5.6 is higher than 5 but lower than 6.

24. When Sarah was 10, her little brother Gerry was half her age. If Sarah is 20 today, how old is Gerry now?
    • Gerry is 5 years younger than Sarah.

25. A bus driver was heading through a busy city. He passed 3 stops signs without stopping, he turned a corner without signaling, he went the wrong way down a one-way street, and he was on his mobile phone. All this time he did not break any traffic laws. How is this possible?
    • He was walking, not driving a bus at the time.

26. How are you able to share 7 apples with 10 friends equally?
    • Make them into applesauce.

27. If Johnny gets 2 cats for his birthday, then 2 more cats for Christmas, then 2 more cats for Easter, how is it possible that he now has 8 cats?
    • Johnny already owns 2 cats before receiving any more.

28. How many times will you have to fold a 2-inch by 4-inch rectangle to create a triangle?
    • 2 times.

29. How can you use 10 number 1s to get the answer 1234?
    • 1 + 11 + 111 + 1111 = 1234

30. I have 2 coins that make a total of 30 cents, but one is not a nickel. How is that possible ?
    • One coin is a quarter, and one is a nickel. The question just asks that one of the coins not be a nickel.

30 Easy Math Riddles for Older Children

If you have older children, it could be more difficult to find math riddles that they find challenging. As kids grow and mature, their cognitive skills develop and expand to grasp more complex concepts. Having a supply of brain teasers to present for your children to work through is a great resource.

Take a look at these math riddles for kids and see if you can also solve them.

1. What is the easiest way to double a small amount money?
   • Hold it in front of a mirror.

2. What identical item occurs 2 times in a week, 1 time in a year, but never occurs in a day?
   • The letter E

3. A boy in a family has an equal number of brothers and sisters. Each sister only has half as many sisters in the family as they have brothers. How many brothers and sisters are included in the family?
   • There are 3 sisters and 4 brothers. 1 boy has 3 sisters and 3 brothers, 1 girl has 2 sisters and 4 brothers since you do not include the individual person.

4. Which items weigh more, a 1-pound bag of chocolate or 2 half-pound bags of candy?
   • Neither since they both weigh a total of 1 pound.

5. If a butcher is only 5 feet tall but has size 10 feet, what does he weigh?
   • Meat, his job is a butcher, so he cuts and weighs meat.

6. Gary is 4 times older than his son today. In 20 years’ time, he will be twice as old as his son. How old are Gary and his son right now?
   • Gary is 40 and his son is 10.

7. Which number is next in the following pattern – 2, 3, 5, 9, 17, ?
   • Each of the next numbers is double the previous number minus 1.

8. If you have 4 watermelons and 5 oranges in one hand, with 7 watermelons and 2 oranges in the other hand, what do you have?
   • Very large hands!

9. Susan works at an aquarium with turtles. If she puts 1 turtle alone in a tank, there will be 1 turtle leftover without a tank. If she puts 2 turtles together in a tank, there will be 1 tank left without a turtle. How many turtles and tanks does the aquarium have?
   • 4 turtles and 3 tanks

10. Billy and Bobby walk to the same school each morning. If Billy has to leave 10 minutes earlier than Bobby and they meet at the park just half a mile away from the school, which child is closer to the school when they meet?
    • Neither, since both boys are at the same park only half a mile away from the school.

11. Why are 1879 $10 bills worth more than 1875 $10 bills?
    • Because there are more of them in total, giving more value.

12. Lucy has a bag of candy. The bag weighs two thirds as much as the candy. The candy weighs 1 pound plus half of the total weight of the bag. What is the total weight of the bag of candy?
    • 5 pounds. The candy weighs 1.5 pounds and the bag weighs 1 pound, totalling 2.5 pounds.

13. Lisa has more than 2 animals in her yard. All of them are dogs, except for 2. All of them are cats, except for 2, and all of them are chickens, except for 2. How many of each animal type does she have in her yard?
    • 1 dog, 1 cat, 1 chicken.

14. There are 10 people at a party. If each of those 10 people shake hands with everyone else only 1 time, how many handshakes will occur at the party?
    • The first person to shake the other nine’s hands will have shaken 9 times. The second person has already shaken with the first, so he only has eight more to shake with everyone. The third person will have seven more and so on…

15. In Blake’s classroom there are 12 children. 6 of the kids are wearing shoes. 4 kids are wearing socks. 3 kids are wearing both shoes and socks. How many kids have bare feet?
    • 6 + 4 = 10 – 3 for wearing both = 7. That leaves 5 kids with nothing on their feet.

16. If it takes 12 men a total of 12 hours to complete a wall, how many hours will it take only 6 men to do the same wall?
    • No time, since the wall is already completed.

17. Add this number to itself and then multiply it by 4. Divide it by 8. What is the final number you get?
    • Any number you choose to start with will be the number you end up with.

18. There are several books on a shelf. If you choose a book that is the 6^th book from the right and also the 4^th book from the left, how many total books are on the shelf?
    • 9 books. 6 + 4 – 1 (for the book as a reference to itself) = 9

19. I am a 3-digit number. The 2^nd number is 4 times larger than the 3^rd The first digit is 3 less than the 2^nd number. What is the number?
    • 141

20. Using only addition methods, how can you add 8 number 8s to reach a total of 1,000?
    • 8 + 888 + 8 + 88 + 8 = 1,000

21. If 2 hens can lay 2 eggs in 2 minutes, how many hens are needed to lay 500 eggs in 500 minutes?
    • Still only 2 hens since it is the same rate of speed.

22. What 4 days start with the letter T?
    • Tuesday, Thursday, Today, and Tomorrow.

23. What item occurs only 1 time in exactly 1 minute, 2 times in each moment, but does not occur in a thousand years?
    • The letter M

24. Sam was 11 years old the day before yesterday. Next year he will turn 14 years old. How is that correct?
    • The current date is January 1. The day before yesterday was December 30 when Sam was 11. His birthday is December 31 and he turned 12. This current year he will turn 13 – on December 31, so next year he will be 14 years old.

25. It is raining right now at midnight. The weather forecast says it will be sunny and clear all day today and tomorrow. Will it be sunny in 48 hours?
    • No, because in 48 hours it will be midnight again with no sun visible.

26. Lucy went shopping. She only had $150 to spend. She purchased a sweater and a pair of shoes. The sweater cost $100 more than the shoes. How much did each item cost?
    • The sweater was $125, and the shoes were $25.

27. If you multiplied all of the numbers together on the keypad of your telephone, what would the resulting number be?
    • 0, since anything multiplied by 0 is always 0.

28. This number is never a whole number. If you divide another number by it, that other number increases. What type of number is the original number?
    • A fraction

29. Mark bought a pizza for his family for supper. If there are 8 people including him in his family, how many times does he need to cut the pizza?
    • Only 4 times. He will cut it straight across in half 4 times to create 8 slices.

30. If you add 2 even numbers, the result will always be an even number. If you add 1 even and 1 odd number, the result will always be an odd number. What will always be the result be if you add 2 odd numbers?
    • An even number

Conclusion

The internet has a wide range of math puzzles for kids of all ages to choose from and are free to download and use. You may want to try and make up your riddles for your kids. Try to get creative and see just how innovative you can be while constructing several brain puzzles for your kids to solve.

 

There are many more easy math riddles for kids to choose from, depending on their age and learning abilities. As your child grows and matures, you can begin introducing more difficult math riddles to give them more of a challenge. Not only are these brain puzzles beneficial for their cognitive health, but they are fun to do.