Basic Operations Practice Questions

1. Edward ascends to the top of a mountain over the course of two days. On Friday, he ascends 482 feet. He ascends another 362 feet on Saturday. How many feet did he ascend in all?
  1. 848 feet
  2. 836 feet
  3. 840 feet
  4. 844 feet
2. Kristen must buy three items that are priced at $4.58, $6.22, and $8.94. What is the best estimate for the total cost of all three items?
  1. $18
  2. $16
  3. $20
  4. $22
3. A teacher donates to a local charity. Each year, she donates three times the amount donated the previous year. If the teacher donated $2 the first year, how much did she donate during the fifth year?
  1. $158
  2. $164
  3. $162
  4. $144
4. Penny drinks 8 glasses of water each day. The number of glasses of water she drinks over a 12-day time span can be determined, using the number sentence: Which number sentence would not show the number of glasses of water she drinks?
  1. ? / 8 = 12
  2. 12 x 8 = ?
  3. ? / 12 = 8
  4. 12 – 8 = ?
5. Belinda draws a rectangle with a length of 6 cm. She draws a second rectangle with a length of 11 cm. Belinda continues drawing more rectangles, where for each rectangle drawn, she uses a length that is 5 more centimeters than the length of the previous rectangle. If this pattern continues, what will be the length of the 11th rectangle?
  1. 46 cm
  2. 54 cm
  3. 56 cm
  4. 61 cm
6. Jasper collects 1,082 cans of food. He gives a certain number of cans to the first local charity he finds. He now has 602 cans of food. How many cans of food did he give to the first local charity?
  1. 430
  2. 480
  3. 682
  4. 1,684
7. Amanda creates the base of a picture frame, using 4.55 inches of red fabric and 6.25 inches of blue fabric. How many inches of fabric are used to create the base of the frame?
  1. 10.80 inches
  2. 10.85 inches
  3. 10.75 inches
  4. 10.90 inches
8. Hannah ran 12 laps every day for 8 days. How many laps did she run in all?
  1. 108
  2. 96
  3. 84
  4. 72
9. Three friends sold cupcakes for a fundraiser. Eli sold 84 cupcakes, John sold 46 cupcakes, and Kim sold 72 cupcakes. Which of the following is the best estimate for the number of cupcakes the three friends sold in all?
  1. 180
  2. 200
  3. 210
  4. 190
10. Carlisle charges $21.95 per hair cut and has completed 30 haircuts this week. Which of the following is the best approximation for the total charges for all haircuts?
  1. $450
  2. $600
  3. $750
  4. $800

 

Answers & Explanations

1. D

The total number of feet he ascended can be determined by adding 482 feet and 362 feet. The sum of 482 and 362 is 844. Thus, he ascended 844 feet in all.

2. C

The item priced at $4.58 can be rounded to $5. The item priced at $6.22 can be rounded to $6. The item priced at $8.94 can be rounded to $9. The sum of 5, 6 and 9 is 20. Thus, the best estimate is $20.

3. C

In order to find the amount donated the following year, you multiply the amount donated the previous year by 3. Thus, the amount donated the second year was $6. The amount donated the third year was $18. The amount donated the fourth year was $54. The amount donated the fifth year was $162.

4. D

If she drinks 8 glasses of water each day, the number of glasses of water she drinks in 12 days can be determined by multiplying 8 by 12. This product is 96; thus she drinks 96 glasses of water in a 12-day time span. The relationship between the number of glasses of water she drinks per day and the total number of glasses of water she drinks in 12 days can be represented by an appropriate multiplication or division number sentence within the following fact family: Subtracting 8 from 12 will not reveal the number of glasses she drinks in a 12-day time span. The number sentence: , is not in this fact family.

5. C

If each rectangle has a length that is 5 cm more than that of the previous rectangle, the lengths of the 3rd rectangle through the 11th rectangle can be found by adding 5 cm to the length of the second triangle and continuing for each next rectangle. So, the lengths of the rectangles will be as follows: 16 cm, 21 cm, 26 cm, 31 cm, 36 cm, 41 cm, 46 cm, 51 cm, and 56 cm.

6. B

In order to find the number of cans of food he gave to the first charity, the number of cans of food he has left needs to be subtracted from the number of cans he collected; .

7. A

The sum of the two decimals is 10.80; the decimals are added just like whole numbers are, while aligning the decimal point.

8. B

She runs laps in all, or 96 laps.

9. B

The number of cupcakes sold can be rounded as follows: 80 cupcakes, 50 cupcakes, and 70 cupcakes, which sum to 200. Therefore, the best estimate for the number of cupcakes sold is 200 cupcakes.

10. B

The amount of money Carlisle charges per hair cut can be rounded to $20. Thus, his total charges are approximately $600.