GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT: Fifth or Sixth (could be adapted for any level

This can be incorporated into any context or subject area.

 OVERVIEW:

While the students may find this exercise simply amusing, it is intended to show them the importance of thinking through their answers for tests. The importance of common sense, reasoning, and logic are necessary for the students to gain the most from their studies. The "test" can be given as written or oral. If oral, then it is best to have the students write down their answers and discuss after the completion of the test. Also, when used as an oral test, the student must rely more on reasoning and logic skills, as they have less time to think through each question. Also, if given orally, a couple of questions are better if adapted or omitted. These questions are self-evident.

 ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:

 To be given written or orally:

 Questions:

1. If an individual went to bed at 8 o'clock p.m., set a regular alarm to get up at 9 o'clock in the morning, and got up when the alarm went off, how many hours of sleep would he get?

2. Do they have a Fourth of July in England?

3. How many birthdays does the average person have?

4. Can a man living in Phoenix, Arizona, be buried east of the Mississippi River?

5. If you had a match and entered a room in which there was a kerosene lamp, an oil heater, and a wood burning stove, which item would you light  first?

6. Some months have 30 days, some have 31, how many have 28?

7. If your doctor gave you three pills and said to take one every half hour, how long would they last?

8. A hunter left his house and walked three miles south, walked three miles west, shot and killed a bear, and walked three miles north to his home. What color was the bear?

9. How far can a dog run into the forest?

10. There are two US coins that total 55 cents. One of the coins is not a nickel. What are the two coins?

11. What is the minimum number of active baseball players on the field during any part of an inning?

12. A farmer had 17 sheep. All but 9 died. How many does the farmer have left?

13. Divide 30 by one-half and add 10. What is the answer?

14. Two men were playing chess. They played five games and each man won the same number of games, with no ties or stalemates. How can you figure this out?

15. How many animals of each species did Moses take aboard the Ark with him? 

16. Take two apples from three apples and what do you have?

17. An airplane crashed on the border of Arizona and Utah. All but three aboard were killed. In which state would the survivors be buried? 

18. How much dirt can be removed from a hole that is 3 feet deep, 2 feet wide, and 10 feet long? 

19. An archaeologist found some gold coins dated 46 B.C. How is this possible or not possible? 

20. A lady gave a beggar 50 cents. The lady noted that the beggar was not her brother, yet the lady is the beggar's sister. How is this possible? 

21. Is it legal in Nova scotia for a man to marry his widow's sister? 

22. If your bedroom were pitch dark and you needed a matching pair of socks, what is the minimum number of socks you will need to take out of the bureau drawer, to guarantee a matching pair, if the drawer contains 25 white and 25 blue socks? 

23. Which word on this test is misspelled?

24. If it takes 10 men, 10 days to dig a hole, how long will it take 5 men to dig half of a hole?

25. Which has more value: a truckload of nickels or half a truckload of dimes?

26. There are 12 one-cent stamps in a dozen. How many two-cent stamps are in a dozen?

27. A monkey at the bottom of a well (ten feet deep) tries to climb out. Each day he jumps up three feet and slips back two. At that rate, how long will it take the monkey to reach the top?

28. Which is correct: eight and eight ARE fifteen, or eight and eight IS fifteen?

29. If three cats kill three rats in three minutes, how long will it take for one hundred cats to kill one hundred rats?

Answers:

1. One

2. Of course

3. One

4. No, he's alive

5. The match

6. All

7. One hour (Ex. 6:00, 6:30, then 7:00)

8. White

9. Half way, then he's running out

10. 50 cents and a nickel (one's not a nickel, the other is)

11. 10 (9 teammates and the batter from the other team)

12. 9

13. 70

14. They didn't play each other

15. None, Noah went

16. Two apples

17. Don't bury survivors

18. None, if any, then the hole would be bigger

19. No B.C. date, can't predict the future

20. They're sisters

21. No, he's dead

22. 3

23. Misspelled

24. Can't dig half a hole

25. The dimes

26. 12

27. 8 days

28. Neither

29. Three minutes