[For Seniors] Recommended Brain Training! A Fun Collection of Math Quizzes

38 steps

With the rule “go up 3 steps, then go down 2,” you gain a net of 1 step per cycle, and each cycle takes 5 steps. To reach the 10th step, you might think to repeat the rule 10 times, giving the formula “5 steps × 10 cycles” for 50 steps. However, the correct answer is 38 steps. You stand on the 7th step, and from there, going up 3 steps lands you on the 10th step. In formula form: “5 steps × 7 cycles + 3 steps,” which equals 38 steps.

nine times

From the problem statement, you can set up the expression “80 pieces of luggage ÷ 9 pieces per truck,” right? You might be tempted to answer “8 remainder 8,” but let’s read the problem more carefully. There’s no such thing as a “remainder” when counting the number of trips. Therefore, the remainder 8 is included as one additional trip. The correct answer is “9 trips.”

10 minutes

It might seem like a tricky problem, but the solution is simple. If 10 machines take 10 minutes to make 10 products, then it takes 10 minutes for one machine to make one product. So with 50 machines making 50 products, you can assign one product to each machine and finish in 10 minutes as well.

Rotate the “+” and “6” to turn them into “×” and “9,” respectively.

When you hear “move” numbers and mathematical symbols, you might think of shifting them around, right? The trick here is to change the approach a little: rotate two of them. For example, an expression like “5×2-9=1” becomes valid when you rotate. With some variations, you could create lots of puzzles like this.

9

This is a problem where the answers are expressed as equations. Since the value of the expression on the right side of the equals sign is 3, the value of the expression on the left side must also be 3. Let’s think about the number that, when subtracted from the result of calculating the left side “5 + 7,” gives 3. The answer is 9.

8

In the fill-in-the-blank problem that combines multiplication and addition, the answer is “8,” right? Since the final result is “40,” you can add 8 and look for a number that makes 40 from the multiples of 4, or replace the circles with X’s and solve that way. It might also be fun to work together with others, recall what you know, and enjoy the calculations as you go.

17+4-3×6＝3

If you're good at calculations, this looks like a puzzle you can enjoy solving. The way to solve it is to insert the symbols you’ve come up with and work through it. You can focus and think it through on your own, or write it on a whiteboard and solve it with a few older adults—it seems like it would be a lot of fun either way.