Practise place value vocabulary, logical thinking and mental math skills with these place value riddles for both 2 and 3 digit numbers
Math riddles!
I always loved this type of brain teaser when I was a kid (and still do!).
If you’re looking for a fun math activity for your child at home, or for some brain teasers for your homeschool or classroom, these place value math riddles are a great option.
They’ll really get your child thinking and they’re a great for practising place value vocabulary, mental math skills and arithmetic.
Read on to find out more.
Related post: Free printable place value charts
Tell me about these place value math riddles!
These math riddles task cards are available in two versions – one for 2 digit numbers and one for 3 digit numbers.
In each of these two versions, there are 24 task cards. On each task card there is a riddle made up of between 2 and 4 short clues. Use the clues to help you work out the mystery number.
The riddles get progressively harder as you work your way through the task cards. The first 8 task cards are the easiest, the next 8 are a bit more challenging and the final 8 may well involve some head-scratching.
Solving the riddles
On each card, the first line of the riddle tells you how many digits the mystery number has (e.g. “I am a two digit number”)
For some riddles, you can find the number by doing one calculation. For example:
For most of the riddles, however, you will have to do several calculations to find the answer. For example:
For some of the harder riddles, I would definitely recommend having some spare paper available to jot down any working out.
For example, in the riddle below, you may want to write down all of the multiples of 4 which are less than 40 so that you can then go through and find the one which has digits adding up to 9.
How do I use this resource?
This resource is really versatile and requires very little prep. Simply print the task cards (there are 4 task cards per page) and also a copy of the answer recording sheet for your child or each student in your class.
Each task card is numbered in the bottom corner (1 to 24) and the answer sheet has a box corresponding to each riddle.
An answer key is included, as well as black and white versions of the task cards.
If you’re using these in the classroom, the task cards make a great math center.
Need these riddles in the form of a worksheet?
No problem!
A two-page worksheet with all 24 riddles (and answer boxes) is included at the end of the resource. Great as a homework activity!
Where can I purchase these place value riddles?
These place value task cards are available in my store. Simply click on one of the product covers below:
Thanks for checking out these place value riddles.
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