Math is a fun subject, but sometimes it can be tricky. One of the best ways to make math exciting is through riddles! Math riddles challenge our thinking, spark curiosity, and can help make learning more enjoyable.
For third graders, solving math riddles helps build confidence in their math skills while having fun at the same time.
Math riddles are perfect for kids because they encourage problem-solving skills and creative thinking. Whether it’s about addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, riddles offer an interactive way to practice and improve math knowledge.
It’s like solving puzzles that not only enhance their math abilities but also their critical thinking.
In this article, we will explore some exciting and brain-teasing math riddles for 3rd graders. These riddles will involve different types of math problems that will challenge kids to think outside the box and apply their math knowledge. Let’s dive in and have fun solving these riddles!
Fun with Addition Riddles
- What has a number but no size, it tells you how much you need to add?
Answer: A number line. - I’m an addition problem that equals ten. What am I?
Answer: 5 + 5. - What number is always in the middle of 9 and 11?
Answer: 10. - I am an odd number. Take away one letter, and I become even. What am I?
Answer: Seven. - I add up to 12, and my sum is the same if you reverse my digits. What am I?
Answer: 6 + 6. - What number do you get when you add one to four?
Answer: Five. - I am a number that is smaller than 10 but larger than 4. What number am I?
Answer: 5, 6, 7, or 8. - What is the sum of 2, 2, 2, and 2?
Answer: 8. - I’m two digits long, and my sum is 14. What number am I?
Answer: 68 (6 + 8). - If you add 1,000 and 100, what do you get?
Answer: 1,100.
Riddles with Subtraction
- I am a number, and when you subtract 3 from me, I become 5. What am I?
Answer: 8. - What is 12 minus 3?
Answer: 9. - I’m 10 and when you subtract 4, I leave 6. What am I?
Answer: 10. - If I’m taken away from 7, I leave 1. What am I?
Answer: 6. - What’s the difference between 20 and 9?
Answer: 11. - Subtract 5 from me, and I’ll be 10. What am I?
Answer: 15. - I am a number between 3 and 10, and when you subtract 2, I become 6. What am I?
Answer: 8. - What is the result of subtracting 1 from 10?
Answer: 9. - If I subtract 4 from 8, what do I get?
Answer: 4. - Subtract 7 from me, and you will get 3. What number am I?
Answer: 10.
Multiplication Fun
- What do you get if you multiply 3 by 4?
Answer: 12. - What number do you get when you multiply 6 by 7?
Answer: 42. - If you multiply me by 5, I equal 25. What number am I?
Answer: 5. - How much is 9 times 2?
Answer: 18. - If you multiply 5 by 6, what’s the answer?
Answer: 30. - What do you get if you multiply 8 by 8?
Answer: 64. - If I’m multiplied by 7, I equal 56. What number am I?
Answer: 8. - What’s the result of multiplying 4 and 3?
Answer: 12. - Multiply me by 10, and you’ll get 100. What am I?
Answer: 10. - If I’m multiplied by 2, I give you 14. What am I?
Answer: 7.
Division Riddles
- Divide 30 by 5. What do you get?
Answer: 6. - If you divide 24 by 8, what’s the answer?
Answer: 3. - What do you get if you divide 100 by 10?
Answer: 10. - Divide 18 by 6. What’s the result?
Answer: 3. - What is the result when you divide 56 by 7?
Answer: 8. - If you divide 40 by 8, what do you get?
Answer: 5. - What’s the result of dividing 56 by 8?
Answer: 7. - How much is 90 divided by 9?
Answer: 10. - Divide 60 by 10. What do you get?
Answer: 6. - If you divide 64 by 8, what do you get?
Answer: 8.
Geometry Riddles
- I am a shape with three sides. What am I?
Answer: Triangle. - I have four equal sides and four right angles. What am I?
Answer: Square. - I am round and have no corners. What am I?
Answer: Circle. - I have four sides, but they are not all equal. What shape am I?
Answer: Rectangle. - I am a 3D shape with six square faces. What am I?
Answer: Cube. - I have no edges and no corners. What am I?
Answer: Sphere. - I have four sides, two equal and two shorter. What am I?
Answer: Parallelogram. - What shape has 12 edges and 8 vertices?
Answer: Cube. - What shape has five sides?
Answer: Pentagon. - I am a 3D shape with a round base and a pointed top. What am I?
Answer: Cone.
Odd and Even Number Riddles
- I am an even number, and I come after 6. What am I?
Answer: 8. - I am an odd number, and I come before 5. What am I?
Answer: 3. - What number comes before 10 and is even?
Answer: 8. - I am an odd number, and my last digit is 1. What am I?
Answer: 11. - Which number is even and greater than 2 but less than 6?
Answer: 4. - What is the sum of two even numbers?
Answer: An even number. - I am an odd number, and when I’m divided by 2, I leave 1. What number am I?
Answer: 5. - What number is even, but when you subtract 1 from it, it becomes odd?
Answer: 2. - What’s the first even number?
Answer: 2. - What’s the first odd number?
Answer: 1.
Word Problem Riddles
- A box has 12 apples. If you take away 3, how many do you have left?
Answer: 9 apples. - If you have 10 candies and you give away 4, how many do you have left?
Answer: 6. - Tom has 5 marbles. He gets 3 more. How many marbles does he have now?
Answer: 8 marbles. - There are 7 birds on a tree. 3 fly away. How many birds are left?
Answer: 4 birds. - A truck has 8 boxes. If each box has 5 toys, how many toys are there in total?
Answer: 40 toys. - If a candy bar costs $2, how much would 4 bars cost?
Answer: $8. - Lisa has 10 pencils. She gives 2 to her friend. How many pencils does she have left?
Answer: 8 pencils. - A bag of chips weighs 10 ounces. If you eat 3 ounces, how much is left?
Answer: 7 ounces. - You buy 3 books for $5 each. How much do you pay in total?
Answer: $15. - If you have 6 friends and give each one 3 cookies, how many cookies do you give away?
Answer: 18 cookies.
Patterns and Sequences Riddles
- What comes next in the sequence: 1, 4, 9, 16?
Answer: 25. - If you add 3, 6, 9, and 12 together, what is the sum?
Answer: 30. - What’s the next number in the series: 2, 4, 6, 8?
Answer: 10. - In the pattern: 10, 20, 30, what comes next?
Answer: 40. - What’s the next number in the pattern: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16?
Answer: 32. - What number comes next in the series: 5, 10, 15, 20?
Answer: 25. - What comes next in this pattern: 100, 90, 80, 70?
Answer: 60. - What’s the next number: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8?
Answer: 13. - What’s the next in the sequence: 1, 3, 5, 7?
Answer: 9. - What comes next in this sequence: 3, 6, 9, 12?
Answer: 15.
Time and Calendar Riddles
- If a clock strikes 6, what time is it?
Answer: 6:00. - How many months have 28 days?
Answer: All 12 months. - What time is it when the clock strikes 12?
Answer: Noon or midnight. - How many hours are in a day?
Answer: 24. - If the clock shows 3:00, how many minutes is it from 12:00?
Answer: 180 minutes. - What time is it when the clock shows 10:00 and you add 2 hours?
Answer: 12:00. - How many days are in a year?
Answer: 365 days (366 in a leap year). - If it’s 5:30 and you add an hour, what time will it be?
Answer: 6:30. - How many minutes are in an hour?
Answer: 60 minutes. - What time does the sun set if it sets at 7:00 pm?
Answer: 7:00 pm.
Logical Math Riddles
- I’m thinking of a number, add 3 to it, and you get 10. What number am I thinking of?
Answer: 7. - What is the next number in the series: 2, 5, 8, 11?
Answer: 14. - If you subtract my number from 20, you get 12. What is my number?
Answer: 8. - How many legs do 3 spiders have in total?
Answer: 24 (each spider has 8 legs). - If I am a number between 15 and 20, and I’m a multiple of 3, what number am I?
Answer: 18. - How many sides does a hexagon have?
Answer: 6 sides. - I am a number that is divisible by both 4 and 6. What number am I?
Answer: 12. - How many months are there in a year?
Answer: 12 months. - I am a number between 10 and 20. I’m also a multiple of 5. What number am I?
Answer: 15. - I’m thinking of a number, multiply it by 2, and the result is 12. What is the number?
Answer: 6.
Conclusion
These math riddles are a fun and exciting way for third graders to enhance their math skills while having fun! Whether it’s addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, riddles keep kids engaged and boost their problem-solving abilities. Keep solving these riddles, and soon, math will become a breeze!