These word problems come from  Practice A in the 5B Standards Edition Textbook (p. 68). This particular practice follows six lessons on “Percentage” and “Writing Fractions as Percentages”.  Notice how the challenge  progresses through the seven problems.   Let’s look at the underlying concepts of each problem: 5.  No computation is needed. “15 out of [...]

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From Accelerated Learning Primary Mathematics 3 by Ching Kheng Huat published in 1999 in Singapore. Have fun! 1. For both piles to have the same weight, which item belonging to the pile on the left should be exchanged with another item belonging to the pile on the right? 2. Replace the letters with numbers. TEAR [...]

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Rate problems provide some of the biggest challenges to students and adults. These come from Problem-Solving Processes in Mathematics -6 B by Fabian Ng. At 10:15 am, a car left Town X for Town Y at an average speed of 86 km/h, while a truck left Town Y for Town X at an average speed [...]

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Published in Singapore, Challenging Problems in Mathematics for Primary Schools: Intermediate by Dr. Y.H. Leong is a series specially written to provide enrichment activities for students.  The intermediate edition is designed for Primary 4 & 5 students. Enjoy! A farmer planted 22 rambutan trees in a straight row. The trees were spaced out equally. If [...]

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I had coffee with another fan of Singapore Math this week and he loaned me some supplemental materials from his travels to Popular Books in Singapore. These two problems come from Accelerated Learning Primary Mathematics 3 by Ching Kheng Huat published in 1999. The front page states: In this book, “Accelerated Learning” fosters in pupils [...]

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