Entry Level 2: Numbers, Fractions & Decimals

A community hall holds 200 chairs. Which of these numbers is closest to 200 but still less than it?

• A196✓
• B160
• C96
• D209

Answer: 196 is fewer than 200 and closer to it than the other choices below 200. 96 and 160 are both further from 200, and 209 is actually more than 200, not less.

A warehouse has one hundred and seventy-two boxes in stock. How is this number written in figures?

• A1072
• B1720
• C172✓
• D2172

Answer: One hundred and seventy-two means 1 hundred, 7 tens and 2 units, written 172. 1720, 1072 and 2172 all add an extra digit or rearrange the digits incorrectly.

Which of these numbers is odd?

• A47✓
• B48
• C146
• D50

Answer: 47 cannot be split into two equal whole groups, so it is odd. 146, 48 and 50 are all even because they divide exactly by 2.

A car park has bays numbered in order. Which of these is the next even number after 64?

• A168
• B65
• C66✓
• D67

Answer: Even numbers increase in steps of two, so the even number straight after 64 is 66. 65 and 67 are odd, and 168 is a much later even number, not the very next one.

A worker adds two delivery totals together. Which symbol shows this operation?

• A÷
• B+✓
• C×
• D−

Answer: The plus symbol, +, shows that two amounts are being added together. The minus, times and divide symbols each show a different operation.

A carer shares 12 biscuits equally between 4 children. Which symbol represents this?

• A×
• B+
• C−
• D÷✓

Answer: The divide symbol, ÷, is used when an amount is shared equally into groups. Add, subtract and multiply all describe different actions.

A shop sells 34 loaves in the morning and 28 more in the afternoon. How many loaves is that in total?

• A52
• B58
• C162
• D62✓

Answer: 34 add 28 equals 62. 52 and 58 come from adding the tens or units incorrectly, and 162 comes from a mistake in the tens column.

A community centre starts the day with 90 leaflets and gives out 37. How many leaflets are left?

• A53✓
• B47
• C157
• D163

Answer: 90 take away 37 leaves 53. 47 comes from subtracting the digits in the wrong order, and 163 and 157 come from misaligning the tens and units columns.

A minibus has 52 seats. On a trip, 29 are taken. How many seats remain empty?

• A133
• B23✓
• C181
• D21

Answer: 52 minus 29 leaves 23 empty seats. 21 comes from subtracting the digits in the wrong order, and 133 and 181 come from misaligning the columns.

What is 7 multiplied by 8?

• A56✓
• B48
• C144
• D108

Answer: 7 times 8 equals 56, from the times tables up to 12 times 12. 48 comes from a nearby multiplication fact, and 108 and 144 come from recalling the wrong times-table fact entirely.

A café arranges cups into 9 trays with 6 cups on each tray. How many cups is that altogether?

• A54✓
• B108
• C45
• D121

Answer: 9 times 6 equals 54 cups altogether. 45 comes from a nearby multiplication fact, and 108 and 121 come from recalling the wrong times-table fact entirely.

A parcel weighs 2.4 kg and a second parcel weighs 1.3 kg. What is the difference between the two weights?

• A1.1 kg✓
• B3.7 kg
• C1.7 kg
• D0.9 kg

Answer: 2.4 kg minus 1.3 kg equals 1.1 kg. The other weights come from adding the weights or subtracting the digits incorrectly.

A carer shares 47 stickers equally between 5 children, giving out as many whole stickers as possible. How many stickers are left over?

• A42
• B2✓
• C45
• D52

Answer: 9 stickers each uses 45 of the 47, leaving 2 stickers over. 45 is the amount given out rather than left over, and 52 and 42 come from adding or subtracting 5 instead of finding the remainder.

A driver has 53 parcels to load into vans, with 8 parcels fitting in each van. How many parcels are left after filling as many full vans as possible?

• A48
• B61
• C5✓
• D45

Answer: 6 full vans hold 48 of the 53 parcels, leaving 5 parcels over. 48 is the amount loaded rather than left over, and 45 and 61 come from subtracting or adding 8 instead of finding the remainder.

A stall sells 67 raffle tickets. What is 67 rounded to the nearest 10?

• A80
• B70✓
• C65
• D60

Answer: 67 is closer to 70 than to 60, so it rounds up to 70. The other numbers are not the nearest multiple of 10 to 67.

A worker rounds 34 to the nearest 10 to check a calculation. What does 34 round to?

• A20
• B40
• C30✓
• D35

Answer: 34 is closer to 30 than to 40, so it rounds down to 30. The other numbers are not the nearest multiple of 10 to 34.

A charity packs half of a delivery of 200 blankets into vans first. How many blankets is that?

• A1000
• B50
• C20
• D100✓

Answer: Half of 200 is found by dividing by 2, which gives 100. 50 and 20 do not equal half of 200, and 1000 comes from misplacing a zero.

A pack contains 20 tea bags. A worker uses a quarter of the pack. How many tea bags is that?

• A24
• B16
• C80
• D5✓

Answer: A quarter of 20 is found by dividing by 4, which gives 5. 80, 24 and 16 come from multiplying, adding or subtracting by 4 instead of dividing.