1. GUIDED
A weather station packs 53 rain gauges into boxes. Each box holds 8. How many boxes are completely full, and how many gauges are left over? Then: how many boxes do they need to carry all of them?
53 ÷ 8 = remainder
Boxes that are completely full:
The leftover gauges still need a box, so boxes needed:
Answer:
Did you know? Raindrops are not tear-shaped. They start round and squash flatter as they fall, more like a tiny burger bun.
2.
87 students travel to the weather museum. Each van seats 9. How many vans does the school need?
SHOW YOUR THINKING
Answer:
Did you know? A weather balloon climbs about 30 km before the air gets so thin that it bursts.
3.
A station records 6 readings every day for 24 days. Later, 18 readings are found to be spoiled and thrown out. How many good readings are left?
SHOW YOUR THINKING
Answer:
Did you know? Lightning heats the air around it to about 30,000 °C — roughly five times hotter than the surface of the sun.
4.
Two rain barrels are collecting water. One is 3/4 full. The other is 5/8 full. Which barrel has more water in it? How do you know?
SHOW YOUR THINKING
Answer:
Did you know? A single cloud can weigh hundreds of tonnes. The droplets are so tiny that the air holds them up anyway.
5.
A rectangular weather deck covers 48 square metres. One side measures 6 m. How long is the other side? What is the perimeter all the way around?
SHOW YOUR THINKING
Answer:
Did you know? The strongest surface wind gust ever recorded was 408 km/h, on Barrow Island, Australia, in 1996.
1. GUIDED
On Monday 1/2 inch of rain fell. On Tuesday another 1/3 inch fell. How much rain fell over the two days?
A common bottom number for 2 and 3 is
1/2 = /6 and 1/3 = /6
Now add the top numbers only:
Answer:
Did you know? Rain is measured in depth, not volume — 1 inch of rain means the water would sit an inch deep if none drained away.
2.
A gauge is holding 3/4 inch of water. Over a hot afternoon, 2/5 inch evaporates. How much water is left in the gauge?
SHOW YOUR THINKING
Answer:
Did you know? Evaporation is why puddles vanish without draining — the water leaves as an invisible gas.
3.
A mountain station measured 2/3 foot of snow on Monday and 3/4 foot on Tuesday. What was the total snowfall? Give your answer as a mixed number.
SHOW YOUR THINKING
Answer:
Did you know? Every snowflake grows six arms, because of the way water molecules lock together as they freeze.
4.
A network has 36 weather stations. Each one sends 24 readings a day. How many readings arrive in one day?
SHOW YOUR THINKING
Answer:
Did you know? Weather forecasts are made by supercomputers solving millions of equations about the air at once.
5.
A weather balloon climbs at 45 metres each minute for 18 minutes. Then a downdraft pushes it back down 210 metres. How high is the balloon now?
SHOW YOUR THINKING
Answer:
Did you know? You see lightning before you hear thunder because light travels about a million times faster than sound.
3rd Grade
1. 6 full boxes, 5 left over — but 7 boxes to carry them all.
53 ÷ 8 = 6 remainder 5. Those 5 leftover gauges still have to go somewhere, so you need one more box: 7.
2. 10 vans.
87 ÷ 9 = 9 remainder 6. Nine vans leaves 6 students behind, so the answer is 10, not 9.
3. 126 readings.
6 × 24 = 144, then 144 − 18 = 126.
4. The 3/4 barrel.
Give them the same bottom number: 3/4 = 6/8. Now compare 6/8 with 5/8 — 6 eighths is more.
5. Other side 8 m; perimeter 28 m.
Area = side × side, so 48 ÷ 6 = 8 m. Perimeter = 6 + 8 + 6 + 8 = 28 m.
4th Grade
1. 5/6 inch.
Sixths work for both. 1/2 = 3/6 and 1/3 = 2/6, so 3/6 + 2/6 = 5/6. Add the tops, keep the bottom.
2. 7/20 inch.
Twentieths: 3/4 = 15/20 and 2/5 = 8/20. 15/20 − 8/20 = 7/20.
3. 1 5/12 feet (that is 17/12 of a foot).
Twelfths: 2/3 = 8/12 and 3/4 = 9/12. 8/12 + 9/12 = 17/12, which is more than a whole, so 1 5/12.
4. 864 readings.
36 × 24. Split it: (36 × 20) + (36 × 4) = 720 + 144 = 864.
5. 600 metres.
45 × 18 = 810 m climbed. Then 810 − 210 = 600 m.