Looking for math riddles? You've found the right page. We've collected 20 kid-safe math riddles, ranging from quick "what am I" warm-ups to head-scratching brain-teasers. Each riddle includes the answer behind a tap, so kids get a chance to guess before peeking. Great as classroom starters, lunch-box surprises, or a family game.
107 math riddles
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A car’s odometer shows 72927 miles, a palindromic number. What are the minimum miles you would need to travel to form another?
Hint: A car’s odometer shows 72927 miles…
A certain number has three digits. The sum of the three digits equals 36 times this number. Seven times the left digit plus 9 is equal to 5 times the sum of the two other digits. 8 times the second digit minus 9 is equal to the sum of the first and third. What is the number?
Hint: A certain number has three digits…
A clock chimes 5 times in 4 seconds. How many times will it chime in 10 seconds?
A farmer in California owns a beautiful pear tree. He supplies the fruit to a nearby grocery store. The store owner has called the farmer to see how much fruit is available for him to purchase. The farmer knows that the main trunk has 24 branches. Each branch has exactly 12 boughs and each bough has exactly 6 twigs. Since each twig bears one piece of fruit, how many plums will the farmer be able to deliver?
Hint: A farmer in California owns a beautiful pear tree…
Hint: Start working backwards from the end.
A girl is twice as old as her brother and half as old as her father. In 50 years, her brother will be half as old as his father. How old is the daughter now?
Hint: A girl is twice as old as her brother and half as old as her father…
A horse travels a certain distance each day. Strangely enough, two of its legs travel 30 miles each day and the other two legs travel nearly 31 miles. It would seem that two of the horse’s legs must be one mile ahead of the other two legs, but of course this can’t be true. Since the horse is normal, how is this situation possible?
Hint: A horse travels a certain distance each day…
A kind man comes across a dirty box, a voice says to him “Coconuts, $5 a dozen”With his lightning quick arithmetic he calculates that if he sold those same coconuts to the coconut air assault team for the accepted rate of $3 per dozen that in no time at all he would be a millionaire. What’s with this guy, assuming his math is accurate?
Hint: A kind man comes across a dirty box…
A large truck is crossing a bridge 1 mile long. The bridge can only hold 14000 lbs, which is the exact weight of the truck. The truck makes it half way across the bridge and stops. A bird lands on the truck. Does the bridge collapse?
Hint: A large truck is crossing a bridge 1 mile long…
A man buys a rope from a woman for $3.00 and hands the woman a $10 bill. The woman goes into the grocery store next door to get change. She returns and gives the man $7.00. After the man leaves, the clerk from the store comes and says, “Hey, that was a counterfeit bill you gave me.”The woman gives the clerk a good bill. How much has the woman lost?
Hint: A man buys a rope from a woman for $3…
A man ordered a length of rope by telephone from his nearest hardware shop. But when he went to collect the rope, he found that the assistant had miswritten the order by interchanging feet and inches. As a result of this, the rope was only 30 percent of the length that the man wanted. What length did he want and what length did he get?
Hint: A man ordered a length of rope by telephone from his nearest hardware shop…
A man was going to buy a $5000 car, but he didn’t pay a penny for the car, how is this possible?
Hint: A man was going to buy a $5000 car…
Look at a coin. One part you see, one part you don’t. Both are part of the shape.
Hint: Inside vs. outside count as separate places.
A rubber ball is tossed off the top of a 90 foot building. Every time it bounces, it goes back up half way. How many bounces will the ball take before it stops?
Hint: A rubber ball is tossed off the top of a 90 foot building…
Every swing is a fresh start. Past hits don’t change the bat. The chance stays put.
Hint: The coin (or player) doesn’t remember what happened before.
Big cars: 6 fit in a box. Small bears: 10 per box. The store packed 78 toys with extra cars. Count the full boxes—no half ones!
Hint: Try different combos of car boxes and bear boxes until the total makes 78.
A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the course of ten years. How many years did it take for the tree to reach half its maximum height?
Hint: A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the …
I’m round and empty. In addition, I do nothing. In multiplication, I make everything disappear.
Hint: Think of a number that means ‘nothing’.
As I was going to the mall I met a man with seven wives, Each wive held two bags, Each bag held a mother cat, Each mother cat had six babies, How many people where going to the mall?
Hint: As I was going to the mall I met a man with seven wives…
Hint: Start with 22 and think of a way to add 1.