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5th grade challenge word problems

A free printable sheet of 8 Grade 5 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 5 challenge word problems

Name: ____________________

  1. A star puzzle! Kizupi eats 1/2 of a cake. Then a friend eats 1/3 of what is left. Then another friend eats 1/4 of what is left, and so on, until the last friend eats 1/12 of what is left. What fraction of the cake is left at the end?

    Hint for a grown-up: After Kizupi eats 1/2, how much is left? After the next friend eats 1/3 of that, how much is left?

  2. A star puzzle! Kizupi writes every whole number from 1 to 59. How many times does it write the digit 1?

    Hint for a grown-up: How many numbers from 1 to 59 have a 1 in the ones place?

  3. A star puzzle! A strip of floor tiles is 2 tiles tall and 8 tiles long. How many squares of any size can you find in it?

    Hint for a grown-up: How many small squares are there? Can a square be bigger than 2 tiles across here?

  4. A star puzzle! Kizupi builds a big cube for a bird perch from 7 × 7 × 7 small cubes. Then Kizupi paints the whole outside of the big cube. How many small cubes have no paint on them at all?

    Hint for a grown-up: The paint covers the outside layer on every face. What shape do the hidden cubes make?

  5. A star puzzle! The city of numbers puts up house numbers from 1 to 187, using one card for each digit. How many digit cards does it need?

    Hint for a grown-up: How many house numbers have one digit? How many have two digits?

  6. The bike shop has bicycles and tricycles. There are 14 of them, with 34 wheels in all. How many tricycles are there?

    Hint for a grown-up: What if every one of them were a bicycle? How many wheels then?

  7. A star puzzle! Kizupi drops a bouncy ball from 5 m. Each bounce goes up 0.5 times as high as the drop before it. How far has the ball traveled, up and down, when it hits the ground for the third time?

    Hint for a grown-up: How high does the first bounce go? And the second bounce?

  8. A star puzzle! The contest hall has 64 lockers, all closed. Student number 1 opens every locker. Student number 2 changes every 2nd locker: open ones get closed, and closed ones get opened. Student number 3 changes every 3rd locker, and so on, until student number 64 has had a turn. How many lockers are open at the end?

    Hint for a grown-up: A locker ends up open if it is changed an odd number of times. Which numbers have an odd number of factors?

From kizupi.com/tools · Grade 5, sheet 2099

What these challenge problems cover

Each sheet draws 8 problems from 14 Grade 5 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

Where this fits in 5th grade

The Common Core math standards say Grade 5 time should go to these areas [1]:

  • Adding and subtracting fractions, and multiplying and dividing them in simple cases
  • Dividing by two-digit numbers, and decimals to hundredths
  • Volume

For a sheet that mixes every Grade 5 skill, use the 5th grade math word problems page.

Questions parents ask

What are 5th 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 1 kinds of Grade 5 puzzles in Kizupi: Star puzzle.

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.

More word problems by topic

Sources

  1. Common Core State Standards Initiative, Grade 5 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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