For questions 1-10, read each story problem and decide which strategy
would be BEST to solve the story problem.
1. Susan has pictures of her recent vacation that are 2 in. wide and 4
in long. She wants to put them into a photo album that is 8 in. wide by
12 in. long. How many pictures can she fit on a page?
A. Draw a picture
B. Work backwards
C. Make a table
D. Look for a pattern
2. Wendy is painting a design around a wooden box. She had time to paint
a star, heart, circle, circle, heart, star, and heart before she had to
quit. What shape will Wendy paint next to finish the design?
A. Work backwards
B. Work a simpler problem
C. Look for a pattern
D. Make a table
3. Sam is 8 years old; Tyler is 6 years younger. How old will Sam be when
he is twice as old as Tyler?
A. Work a simpler problem
B. Draw a picture
C. Work backwards
D. Systematic guessing and checking
4. Judy went to the grocery store and bought 2 packages of hotdogs for
$2.49 each, 2 packages of hot dog buns for $.89 each, and 3 bags of chips
for $2.79 each. What was the total cost of Judy's groceries?
A. Work backwards
B. Make a table
C. Work a simpler problem
D. Look for a pattern
5. Bob is making a picture frame for his mother. He is decorating it with
4 different colored stones. He started with 2 reds, 1 blue, 2 greens, 1
yellow. If he continues this pattern, what color and how many of them will
come next?
A. Make a table
B. Look for a pattern
C. Systematic Guessing and Checking
D. Work a simpler problem
6. The Millers are renting a van for a their family vacation. The total
cost for a 5 day rental is $325.50, including $15.75 in taxes and $95.00
for insurance. How much is the daily van rental fee alone, without taxes
and insurance?
A. Make a table
B. Look for a pattern
C. Work backwards
D. Draw a picture
7. An art project calls for 2 pieces of yarn. The long piece is 5 times
the short strip. The short piece is 8 in. long. How long are the two pieces
when placed end to end?
A. Work backwards
B. Make a table
C. Work a simpler problem
D. Draw a picture
8. On Friday, Ben's Ice Cream Cafe sold 12 ice cream cones for $1.50 each,
8 sundaes for $2.75 each and 14 milkshakes for $2.25 each. How much money
did they make on Friday?
A. Make a table
B. Work backwards
C. Look for a pattern
D. Work a simpler problem
9. Andrew made $81.00 for mowing the yards in his neighborhood. He has
13 bills. What combination of bills might he have?
A. Work a simpler problem
B. Make a table
C. Draw a picture
D. Systematic guessing and checking
10. The Gomez family spent $249.00 on concert tickets for Thursday and
Friday night. They bought 5 tickets at $17.00 each for the Thursday night
concert. If the Friday night concert tickets cost $22.00, how many tickets
did they buy?
A. Look for a pattern
B. Work backwards
C. Draw a picture
D. Make a table
Please print your answers. Click here to see the correct answers. 