4th grade challenge word problems

A free printable sheet of 8 Grade 4 challenge word problems, with a hint for a grown-up under each one and an answer key worked out by Kizupi’s math engine. Press New sheet for another.

By The Kizupi team · Updated November 4, 2026

Grade 4 challenge word problems

Name: ____________________

Kizupi puts a tent peg every 3 m along the edge of a rectangular campsite. The campsite is 12 m long and 6 m wide. There is a peg at every corner. How many pegs does Kizupi use?
Hint for a grown-up: How many gaps of 3 m fit around the whole edge?
Kizupi paints 1/2 of a long mural strip. Then Sam paints 1/3 of the part that is left. Then Mia paints 1/4 of what is left after that. They keep going like this, and the last painter paints 1/10 of what is left. What fraction of the strip is still unpainted?
Hint for a grown-up: After Kizupi paints 1/2, how much is left? After Sam paints 1/3 of that, how much is left?
Kizupi multiplies all the whole numbers from 1 to 22: 1 × 2 × 3 × … × 22. The answer is huge! How many zeros are at the end of it?
Hint for a grown-up: There are lots of even numbers in the product. Which numbers from 1 to 22 bring a 5?
In the olympiad club, 10 kids like number puzzles and 7 kids like riddles. 5 kids like both. Every kid in the club likes at least one of them. How many kids are in the club?
Hint for a grown-up: If you add 10 and 7, how many times do the kids who like both get counted?
Kizupi weighs three cats, two at a time. Ginger and Smudge weigh 12 kg. Smudge and Pip weigh 16 kg. Ginger and Pip weigh 14 kg. How much do all three cats weigh together?
Hint for a grown-up: If you add up all three weighings, how many times is each cat counted?
Aisha has 15 coins. Some are 5-cent coins and the rest are 10-cent coins. They are worth 125 cents in all. How many 10-cent coins does Aisha have?
Hint for a grown-up: What if every coin were a 5-cent coin? How much would that be?
A robot snail climbs a 16 m wall. Each day it climbs up 4 m, and each night it slides back down 1 m. On which day does it reach the top?
Hint for a grown-up: How far does the snail really get in one full day and night?
What is the smallest six-digit number whose digits add up to 40?
Hint for a grown-up: To make a number small, which digit should be as small as possible?

From kizupi.com/tools · Grade 4, sheet 2088

What these challenge problems cover

Each sheet draws 8 problems from 25 Grade 4 challenge word problems in Kizupi’s published lessons, a different skill for each where it can. Only problems that work on paper are used.

Star puzzle · Chickens and rabbits · Make an organized list · Overlapping groups · Pigeonhole thinking

Where this fits in 4th grade

The Common Core math standards say Grade 4 time should go to these areas [1]:

Multiplying multi-digit numbers and dividing into multi-digit numbers
Equivalent fractions, adding and subtracting like fractions, and a fraction times a whole number
Sorting shapes by parallel sides, right angles and symmetry

For a sheet that mixes every Grade 4 skill, use the 4th grade math word problems page.

Questions parents ask

What are 4th grade challenge word problems?

Puzzle problems a step past the usual ones, where the method isn’t given: working backward, making an organized list, guess and check, or spotting a pattern. These sheets draw from 5 kinds of Grade 4 puzzles in Kizupi: Star puzzle, Chickens and rabbits, Make an organized list, Overlapping groups, Pigeonhole thinking.

Is the worksheet free?

Yes. No account and no email. Press New sheet for another set, and print as many as you like.

Are the answers right?

Every answer is computed with exact arithmetic by the same engine that checks children’s answers in Kizupi, not typed in by hand.

What if my child gets stuck?

That is expected: these are meant to take a while. Read the problem aloud, try it with smaller numbers or a quick drawing, and use the hint under each problem. Save the answer key for the end.

Sources

Common Core State Standards Initiative, Grade 4 introduction. Read October 27, 2026.

Want a tutor that asks “how do you know?” every day? Kizupi’s pixel owl reads each problem aloud, hints one small step at a time and never hands over the answer. Grades 1–6.

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