Anna runs a chocolate factory where she offers a special deal: you can exchange five chocolate wrappers for one chocolate bar. Robert collected 77 wrappers and wanted to know how many chocolates he could get. Here’s how he did it:
First, Robert exchanged 75 wrappers for 15 chocolates, leaving him with 2 wrappers. After unwrapping the 15 chocolates, he had 15 more wrappers. He exchanged those for 3 more chocolates. With the 2 leftover wrappers and the 3 new ones, he got one more chocolate. In total, Robert got 19 chocolates!
Henry, an astronaut, landed on a new planet and needed to find the men’s restroom. He couldn’t understand the local language, but he met a local named Mo who understood English. Henry asked Mo two questions:
1. Point at a door and ask, “Is this the men’s restroom?”
2. Ask, “Am I a man?”
If Mo used the same word for both answers, the door was for men. If the words were different, it was for women.
There were nine candies in a box, and nine people took one candy each, but one candy was still in the box. How? The last person took the candy and the box, leaving one candy inside.
Four friends tried to fit under a small umbrella but stayed dry. How? It wasn’t raining!
Erica and Jay were in a scene where Jay pushed Erica. Why? They were shooting a movie, and you could see the cameraman’s reflection in the window.
Billy set up a game with two candies, one red and one yellow. Picking the red candy won $5,000, but Billy cheated by using two yellow candies. Wendy won by eating her candy without showing it, then showing the remaining yellow candy. Billy had to admit she picked the red one.
Nina met three guys: Brad, Rob, and David. Brad was rude, and she barely knew Rob. David was nice and polite, so she chose him.
Amy had two strings that each took an hour to burn. To measure 45 minutes, she lit both ends of one string and one end of the other. When the first string burned out in 30 minutes, she lit the other end of the second string. When it burned out, 45 minutes had passed.
Adam, an opera singer, was paid with a gold bar over seven days. The fewest cuts needed were two. Each day, he received a portion, and on some days, he returned a piece as change.
Jenny and Sam had to choose a camping spot: in the forest, in the field, or near the lake. The field was safest because wild animals lived in the forest, and a zombie was near the lake.
George had to choose between three doors: a hungry tiger, an angry dinosaur, or toxic gas. He chose the dinosaur door because dinosaurs are extinct.
Jerry’s apple tree doubled its apples every week. After 30 weeks, it was full. It took 29 weeks to be half full because the apples doubled each week.
In the ocean, there’s an island, a house, a glass of water, and a coin. What’s in the middle of the ocean? The letter “e” is in the middle of the word “ocean.”
Harry wanted to talk to one of four ladies at a party. The first was a zombie, the second had a vampire bite, and the fourth was a ghost. He chose the third lady.
Holly claimed her purse was stolen from her car’s back seat at a traffic light. Detective Thomas knew she was lying because her car was a two-door model, making it impossible for a thief to reach the back seat.
Three houses had footprints leading to and from them, except the second house, which only had footprints going in. This made it suspicious.
With several extension leads, only eight laptops could be charged. Some leads were broken or missing parts, so they had to be connected strategically to maximize the number of usable outlets.
Danny and Diana jogged together, but their steps never matched up because Danny took two steps for every three of Diana’s.
The riddle was about a five-letter word: “chair.” Remove the first letter, and it’s “hair” (above you); remove the second, and it’s “air” (around you).
Imagine you are Robert and simulate the chocolate wrapper exchange process. Start with 77 wrappers and calculate how many chocolates you can get. Use paper wrappers and chocolate tokens to physically exchange and count. This will help you understand the concept of iterative exchanges and remainder.
Pair up with a classmate and role-play the scenario of Henry and Mo. One of you will be Henry, and the other will be Mo. Practice asking and answering the questions to determine the correct restroom. This activity will enhance your logical reasoning and communication skills.
Recreate the candy box mystery with a real box and candies. Try to solve the puzzle by figuring out how one candy remains in the box after everyone takes one. Discuss your solutions with classmates to explore different perspectives on problem-solving.
With a group of friends, create a short skit to act out the umbrella puzzle. Use props to simulate the scenario and explain why everyone stayed dry. This activity will help you practice creative thinking and teamwork.
Conduct an experiment to measure 45 minutes using two strings. Follow Amy’s method by lighting both ends of one string and one end of the other. Observe and record the time it takes for each string to burn. This hands-on activity will reinforce your understanding of time measurement and resourcefulness.
Chocolate – A sweet treat often used as a reward or incentive in math problems or puzzles. – Example sentence: If you solve this math problem correctly, you will earn a piece of chocolate as a prize.
Wrappers – Coverings used to encase items, often used in math problems to represent units or groups. – Example sentence: In the math problem, each wrapper represented a group of ten candies.
Candies – Small sweet treats often used in math problems to teach counting, addition, or probability. – Example sentence: If you have 15 candies and you give 5 to your friend, how many candies do you have left?
Puzzle – A problem or enigma that tests ingenuity or knowledge, often used in math to develop critical thinking skills. – Example sentence: The math puzzle required us to find the missing number in the sequence.
Strings – Sequences of characters or numbers, often used in math to represent patterns or data sets. – Example sentence: We used strings of numbers to identify the pattern in the math sequence.
Decision – The process of making a choice or finding a solution, often used in math to determine the best approach to solve a problem. – Example sentence: After analyzing the data, we made the decision to use the formula for calculating the area of a circle.
Camping – An outdoor activity, sometimes used in math problems to set a real-world context for calculations involving time, distance, or resources. – Example sentence: During our camping trip, we calculated how much food we would need for each day.
Dinosaur – A prehistoric creature, sometimes used in math problems to engage students with interesting contexts for measurement or estimation. – Example sentence: If a dinosaur was 30 feet long, how many meters would that be?
Apples – Fruits often used in math problems to teach counting, fractions, or division. – Example sentence: If you have 12 apples and you want to divide them equally among 4 friends, how many apples does each friend get?
Riddle – A question or statement intentionally phrased to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer, often used in math to develop problem-solving skills. – Example sentence: The math riddle challenged us to find the number that is both a square and a cube.
