Are you looking for fun and challenging math riddles for middle school students? If yes, you are in the right place! We have 100 fun math brain teasers with answers. These math questions are great to be used as an ice breaker activity. To make the list available for everyone, we divided it into three levels: easy, intermediate, and hard. You can start with the easy math questions and move on to the harder ones. Or, if you are really confident, you can jump right into the difficult math riddles.
Math Riddles for Middle School
Math riddles are puzzles involving math concepts and operations. They challenge critical thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. They can take various forms, such as word problems, number sequences, or geometric puzzles. They make learning math more interactive and enjoyable. Math riddles are beneficial for middle school students as they make learning math enjoyable, engaging, and effective. By presenting mathematical concepts in a puzzle format, riddles promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They not only reinforce classroom knowledge but also encourage students to approach math with curiosity and confidence.
Easy Math Riddles
Let’s start with the easy math riddles for kids.
- I am an odd number. Take away a letter, and I become even. What number am I? (Answer: Seven – remove the ‘s’ and you get ‘even’)
- I am a three-digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit. What number am I? (Answer: 194)
- I am a fraction. My numerator is one less than my denominator. What fraction am I? (Answer: 1/2)
- I am a prime number greater than 20 but less than 30. What number am I? (Answer: 29)
- I am an even number. I am greater than 50 and less than 60. What number am I? (Answer: 54)
- I am a multiple of 9. My digits add up to 9. What number am I? (Answer: 27)
- I am a polygon with six equal sides and angles. What shape am I? (Answer: Hexagon)
- I am the result of multiplying 7 by itself. What number am I? (Answer: 49)
- I am a two-digit number. The sum of my digits is 11. What number am I? (Answer: 47)
- I am the square root of 81. What number am I? (Answer: 9)
- I am a multiple of 5. If you add 20 to me, you get 50. What number am I? (Answer: 30)
- I am an acute angle in a right-angled triangle. What am I? (Answer: Less than 90 degrees)
- I am the sum of the first ten prime numbers. What number am I? (Answer: 129)
- I am a fraction equivalent to 0.5. What fraction am I? (Answer: 1/2)
- I am the product of 6 and 8. What number am I? (Answer: 48)
- I am the perimeter of a square with sides of length 5. What number am I? (Answer: 200)
- I am a factor of 12. What number am I? (Answer: 6)
- I am the result of subtracting 15 from 30. What number am I? (Answer: 15)
- I am the sum of the first five positive integers. What number am I? (Answer: 15)
- I am a fraction greater than 1/2 but less than 1. What fraction am I? (Answer: 3/4)
- I am the difference between 100 and 37. What number am I? (Answer: 63)
- I am a multiple of 4. If you subtract 10 from me, you get 22. What number am I? (Answer: 32)
- I am the square of a prime number. What number am I? (Answer: 25)
- I am an obtuse angle in a right-angled triangle. What am I? (Answer: Greater than 90 degrees)
- I am the sum of the first three perfect squares. What number am I? (Answer: 14)
- I am a multiple of 7. If you divide me by 2, what is the result? (Answer: 7)
- I am the difference between 80 and 45. What number am I? (Answer: 35)
- I am a polygon with four equal sides and angles. What shape am I? (Answer: Square)
- I am the result of dividing 50 by 5. What number am I? (Answer: 10)
- I am the sum of the first four prime numbers. What number am I? (Answer: 17)
Intermediate Fun Math Riddles for Middle School
Here’s the intermediate-level fun and slightly tricky math riddles.
- What three positive numbers give the same answer when multiplied and added together? (Answer: 1, 2, and 3)
- I am thinking of a number. If you add 15 to it and then subtract 10, you get the same result as if you had multiplied the number by 2 and then subtracted 5. What is the number? (Answer: 10)
- What comes next in the sequence: 2, 6, 12, 20, ___? (Answer: 30 – each number is the sum of consecutive prime numbers)
- I am an even number. If you subtract 5 from me, you get a prime number. What am I? (Answer: 7)
- If you have 3 apples and you take away 2, how many apples do you have? (Answer: 2 apples – you took them, but you still have them)
- What number is represented by Roman numeral XIX? (Answer: 19)
- I am a two-digit number. My tens digit is three times my ones digit, and the sum of my digits is 12. What number am I? (Answer: 48)
- If a rooster lays an egg on the peak of a triangular roof, which side will the egg roll down? (Answer: Roosters don’t lay eggs).
- What is the missing number in the sequence: 8, 27, ___, 125, 216? Answer: 64 (each number is the cube of consecutive integers).
- I am a fraction. If you add my numerator and denominator, the result is 10. If you subtract my numerator from my denominator, the result is 6. What fraction am I? (Answer: 2/8)
- If you have a bowl with six apples and you take away four, how many do you have? (Answer: The bowl is still with you; you have the bowl)
- I am a prime number. If you reverse my digits, I am still a prime number. What number am I? (Answer: 73)
- What is the product of the first three prime numbers? (Answer: 2 * 3 * 5 = 30)
- If you have 5 oranges in one hand and 8 apples in the other, what do you have? (Answer: Very large hands)
- I am a number. Add 7 to me, and you get 30. What number am I? (Answer: 23)
- What comes next in the sequence: 1, 4, 9, 16, ___? (Answer: 25 – each number is a perfect square)
- What is the sum of the first 10 positive integers? (Answer: 55)
- If you have 3 apples and you give away 2, how many apples do you have left? (Answer: 1 apple – you gave away 2)
- I am a three-digit number. The sum of my digits is 18. My tens digit is three times my one’s digit. What number am I? (Answer: 486)
- What is the only even prime number? (Answer: 2)
- If you have a box with 12 chocolates and you eat half of them, how many chocolates do you have left? Answer: You have the other half, so you still have 12 chocolates.
- What is the next number in the Fibonacci sequence after 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ___? (Answer: 13)
- I am a two-digit number. My digits are the same, and their sum is 9. What number am I? (Answer: 45)
- What is the sum of the first 50 positive integers? (Answer: 1275)
- I am a fraction. If you double my numerator and triple my denominator, I become 2/3. What fraction am I? (Answer: 2/9)
- What is the smallest three-digit prime number? (Answer: 101)
- I am thinking of a number. If you add 20 to it and then divide the result by 5, you get the same result as if you had added 15 to the number. What is the number? (Answer: 15)
- What is the sum of the first four perfect numbers? (Answer: 8658 because 6+28+496+8128=8658)
- I am a two-digit number. If you reverse my digits and subtract the smaller from the larger, you get 27. What number am I? (Answer: 63 since )
- I am a number. If you multiply me by 7 and then add 11, the result is 88. What number am I? (Answer: 11)
Difficult Math Riddles for Middle School
Try solving these challenging math questions for middle school students.
- I am a three-digit number. The sum of my digits is 14, and the product of my digits is 72. What number am I? (Answer: 261)
- What is the next number in the sequence: 3, 6, 12, 24, ___? (Answer: 48)
- I am a fraction. My denominator is one less than my numerator. If you add 2 to both, the fraction becomes 3/4. What fraction am I? (Answer: 5/4)
- I am a prime number. If you reverse my digits, subtract the smaller from the larger, and then divide by 3, you get 3. What number am I? (Answer: 37)
- What is the sum of all the prime numbers between 30 and 50? (Answer: 233)
- I am a four-digit number. My thousands digit is three less than my hundreds digit, and the sum of my digits is 20. What number am I? (Answer: 1823)
- In a garden, there are 15 rows of flowers. In each row, there are 8 flowers. If half of the rows have red flowers and the rest have blue flowers, how many blue flowers are there? (Answer: 60)
- If you multiply a number by 7 and then subtract 12, you get 99. What is the number? (Answer: 15)
- I am a fraction. If you add my numerator and denominator, the result is 17. If you subtract my numerator from my denominator, the result is 5. What fraction am I? (Answer: 6/11)
- What is the product of the first five prime numbers? (Answer: 210)
- I am a two-digit number. If you reverse my digits and subtract the smaller from the larger, you get 9. What number am I? (Answer: 45)
- In a right-angled triangle, the length of the hypotenuse is 13, and one side is 5. What is the length of the other side? (Answer: 12)
- I am thinking of a number. If you multiply it by 3 and then add 7, the result is the same as if you double it and subtract 10. What is the number? (Answer: 17)
- A number is divided by 3, and the result is increased by 5. If the final result is 11, what is the original number? (Answer: 6)
- I am a three-digit palindrome. If you subtract me from the number formed by reversing my digits, the result is 198. What number am I? (Answer: 292)
- The sum of three consecutive even numbers is 114. What are the numbers? (Answer: 36, 38, 40)
- I am a fraction. If you double my numerator and triple my denominator, I become 5/6. What fraction am I? (Answer: 2/3)
- A number is increased by 25%, and then the result is decreased by 20%. What is the overall percentage change? (Answer: 0%)
- I am a polygon with the same number of sides as the sum of the first four prime numbers. What shape am I? (Answer: Pentagon)
- If you have a rectangle with a length of 10 units and a diagonal of length 13 units, what is the width of the rectangle? (Answer: 5 units)
- I am a number. If you add 25 to me and then divide by 5, the result is the same as if you subtract 5 and then multiply by 3. What is the number? (Answer: 10)
- The sum of two consecutive odd numbers is 76. What are the numbers? (Answer: 37, 39)
- I am a fraction. If you subtract 3 from my numerator and add 4 to my denominator, I become 1/3. What fraction am I? (Answer: 7/11)
- The average of five consecutive integers is 21. What is the largest of these integers? (Answer: 23)
- I am a perfect square. If you add 16 to me, the result is a perfect cube. What number am I? (Answer: 36)
- I am a fraction. If you double my numerator and subtract 5 from my denominator, I become 3/8. What fraction am I? (Answer: 7/16)
- The sum of the angles in a hexagon is equal to the sum of the angles in a rectangle. If one angle in the rectangle is 90 degrees, what is the measure of one angle in the hexagon? (Answer: 120 degrees)
- I am a number. If you multiply me by 6 and then add 9, the result is the same as if you double me and subtract 3. What is the number? (Answer: 3)
- The sum of three consecutive odd integers is 87. What are the integers? (Answer: 27, 29, 31)
- I am a fraction. If you multiply my numerator by 2 and add 3 to my denominator, I become 1/2. What fraction am I? (Answer: 5/13)
Very Challenging Math Questions
If you want to try something even more challenging, try solving these bonus math questions.
- Three people check into a hotel room that costs $30. They each contribute $10, handing $30 to the hotel clerk. Later, the hotel clerk realizes there was a mistake, and the room only costs $25. The hotel clerk gives $5 to the bellboy and asks him to return it to the guests. On the way to the room, the bellboy wonders how to split $5 among three people. He decides to give each guest $1 and keep $2 as a tip. Now, each guest has paid $9 (a total of $27), and the bellboy has kept $2, making a total of $29. What happened to the missing dollar? (Answer: There is no missing dollar. The guests paid a total of $27, and the bellboy kept $2, which adds up to the correct room price of $29)
- A farmer has 17 sheep, and all but 9 die. How many are left? (Answer: The farmer has 9 sheep left)
- In a group of people, 90% are married, and the rest are single. If you randomly select three people from the group, what is the probability that at least two of them are married? (Answer: The probability is 1 (or 100%) because everyone is either married or single)
- If you have a rectangular box and you increase the length, width, and height each by 100%, how much does the volume increase? (Answer: The volume increases by 800% (or becomes 9 times larger)
- In a town, 80% of the men are married to 90% of the women. What percentage of the population is married? (Answer: The percentage of the population that is married is 72% (80% of 90%))
- A man builds a house with four sides of rectangular construction, each having a southern exposure. A big bear comes by. What color is the bear? (Answer: White. The only way for the house to have all four sides facing south is if it is at the North Pole, and there, the only bears are white.)
- A clock chimes 5 times in 4 seconds. How many times will it chime in 10 seconds? (Answer: 12 times. The clock chimes once every second, so in 10 seconds, it will chime 10 times.)
- A bag contains 5 red balls, 4 green balls, and 3 blue balls. If you randomly draw two balls without replacement, what is the probability that both balls are of the same color? (Answer: The probability is 29/66 because there are 12 balls in total, and after drawing one, there are 11 left.)
- A man is three times as old as his son. In 15 years, he will be only twice as old as his son. How old are they now? (Answer: The man is 45 years old, and his son is 15 years old.)
- If you write all the numbers from 1 to 1000 in words (e.g., one, two, three), how many times do you write the letter ‘a’? (Answer: The letter ‘a’ is used times.)
FAQs About Math Riddles for Middle School
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about math riddle questions that are suitable for middle school students.
Turn me on my side and I am everything. Cut me in half and I am nothing. What am I?
The answer is 8.
What are some math brain teasers for middle school?
Here are some good math brain teaser for kids:
- I am an even number. If you subtract 5 from me, you get a prime number. What am I? (Answer: 7.)
- If you have 3 apples and you take away 2, how many apples do you have? (Answer: 2 apples (you took them, but you still have them))
- I am a fraction. My denominator is one more than my numerator. What fraction am I? (Answer: 1/2
- I am the square root of 81. What number am I? (Answer: 9)
- I am a multiple of 7. If you divide me by 2, what is the result? (Answer: 7)
What is the answer to the “how many sides does a circle have” riddle?
The answer is two (inside & outside).
What are the benefits of math riddles?
Math riddles offer benefits such as developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, reinforcing mathematical concepts, promoting logical reasoning and creativity, making learning enjoyable, increasing engagement, fostering collaborative learning, and boosting confidence.
What are some funny math riddles for middle school?
Here are some funny maht riddles for middle school students.
- Why was the equal sign so humble? (Answer: It knew it wasn’t less than or greater than anyone else.)
- Why did the math book look sad? (Answer: Because it had too many problems.)
- What did the zero say to the eight? (Answer: “Nice Belt!”)
- Why did the student do multiplication problems on the floor? (Answer: The teacher told them not to use tables.)
- What’s a math teacher’s favorite place in New York? (Answer: Times Square.)
More Fun Questions
If you are looking for more fun questions or activities, check out the following list of articles:
- Christmas Riddles
- Funny What If Questions
- Deep Philosophical Questions
- Would You Rather Food Questions
- Animal Trivia Questions
- Science Trivia Questions
Math Riddles for Middle School: Join the Conversation
Which one was your favourite math brain teaser question? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear from you.