Tap a speaker to listen. Then try saying it yourself! Tap it again to stop.
Loading…
Worksheet generator
Pick what you want, print the page. The answer key comes with it, on its own sheet, and it tells you the mistake behind every wrong choice — not just which letter is right.
This exact URL always produces this exact sheet — bookmark it and the answer key will still match next term. Print with your browser; the controls and the site navigation are left off the page.
1.How many different two-digit numbers can be written using only the digits 1, 2 and 3, if a digit may be used twice?[3]
A3
B6
C9
D12
E27
2.How many 2 by 2 squares fit on a 4 by 4 board, if they must line up with the grid?[4]
A4
B6
C8
D9
E16
3.A coin is tossed three times. In how many of the possible outcomes are there exactly two heads?[4]
A2
B3
C4
D6
E8
4.How many different four-letter arrangements can be made from the letters of the word MATH, using each letter once?[4]
A4
B12
C16
D24
E256
5.Two students are chosen from a group of six to represent the class. How many different pairs are possible?[4]
A12
B15
C21
D30
E36
6.A club has 8 members. In how many ways can a group of 3 be chosen to attend a conference, if the three places are all the same?[4]
A56
B336
C24
D112
E28
7.Five children sit in a row. Two of them are twins who insist on sitting next to each other. In how many orders can the five sit?[5]
A12
B24
C48
D60
E120
8.Five beads of five different colours are threaded on a circular bracelet. Two bracelets count as the same if one can be turned or flipped into the other. How many different bracelets are there?[5]
A12
B20
C24
D60
E120
9.A drawer holds 12 red socks, 10 blue socks and 8 green socks, all mixed up. You take socks out one at a time in the dark. What is the smallest number of socks you must take to be certain of having three of the same colour?[5]
A4
B7
C9
D13
E3
10.Six friends sit around a circular table. Two seatings count as the same if one can be turned into the other by rotating the table. How many genuinely different seatings are there?[5]
A120
B720
C36
D60
E24
Math Kangaroo Star · https://kangaroo-atlas.vercel.app · seed 1 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · Independent project, not affiliated with Math Kangaroo in USA, NFP.
Answer key — Math Kangaroo practice
Each wrong choice carries the thinking that produces it. When a student picks C, this is what they were doing.
1.C — 9KA-0072Systematic listing
AI counted only the numbers with two identical digits, like 11, 22 and 33.
BI required the two digits to be different, even though repeats are allowed.
DI allowed a fourth digit that was not in the list.
EI counted three-digit numbers instead of two-digit ones.
2.D — 9KA-0046Counting by position (sliding window)
AI cut the board into four separate 2 by 2 blocks instead of sliding the square one step at a time.
BI counted the three sliding positions along the top and doubled them for two rows.
CI counted the positions along the top row and down the left column and added them.
EI counted the sixteen small squares on the board rather than the 2 by 2 squares.
3.B — 3KA-0068Tree diagrams
AI read the two in exactly two heads as the answer rather than as a condition to count.
CI counted the outcomes with two or more heads, so I included the three-head one as well.
DI counted the orderings of three different objects instead of listing the eight outcomes.
EI gave the total number of possible outcomes rather than the number with exactly two heads.
4.D — 24KA-0073Arrangements of a few objects
AI counted the letters rather than their arrangements.
BI multiplied 4 by 3 and stopped, forgetting the last two positions.
CI used 4 choices for every position, as if letters could repeat.
EI used 4 choices in each of four positions, which allows every letter to repeat.
5.B — 15KA-0074Selections of a few objects
AI doubled the group size instead of counting pairs.
CI allowed a student to be paired with themselves, adding six impossible pairs.
DI counted each pair twice, once in each order, and forgot to halve.
EI multiplied 6 by 6, counting every ordered pair including a student with themselves.
6.A — 56KA-0163Selections of a few objects
BI counted ordered selections, so I counted the same three people once for every order they could stand in.
CI multiplied the 8 members by the 3 places, which counts something quite different from a selection.
DI divided the 336 ordered selections by 3 instead of by 3 factorial.
EI chose 2 people rather than 3.
7.C — 48KA-0070Counting with restrictions
AI treated the twins as one child and forgot they can also swap places with each other.
BI glued the twins together into a single block but then forgot that the block can be arranged with the others in more ways than I counted.
DI halved the 120 total, assuming the twins are together in exactly half the arrangements.
EI counted every arrangement of five children and forgot the twins' condition entirely.
8.A — 12KA-0071Overcount, then correct
BI divided the 120 arrangements by 6 rather than by the 10 movements that leave a bracelet looking the same.
CI allowed for turning the bracelet but forgot it can also be flipped over.
DI halved the 120 for flipping but forgot that turning also gives the same bracelet.
EI counted every arrangement in a line, as if the bracelet had a fixed first bead.
9.B — 7KA-0157The pigeonhole principle
AI thought that one more than the number of colours must give three of a kind, which only guarantees a PAIR.
CI got to two of each colour, then added one more for each colour instead of one more in total.
DI assumed the worst case meant emptying the largest pile of 12 reds first.
EI answered with the number of socks I want rather than the number I must take to be sure of them.
10.A — 120KA-0166Counting up to symmetry
BI counted every arrangement in a row, so each circular seating got counted once for every rotation.
CI divided 720 by 20 or some other number instead of by the 6 rotations.
DI divided by 12, treating reflections as identical too, though the question only allows rotations.
EI fixed two people rather than one, dividing by an extra factor.