Sample Test Questions Grades 3 and 4
Below are sample questions from the TIMSS achievement tests in Science administered to twenty-six countries. TIMSS is a research project sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). These questions may be used in the classroom, as a tool for evaluation, or to provide examples of test-question writing. The sample questions are grouped into five categories: 1.Whole Numbers 2. Fractions and Proportionality 3. Measurement, Estimation, and Number Sense 4. Data Representation, Analysis and Probability 5. Patterns, Relations, and Functions
 
Whole Numbers

1. When you subtract one of the numbers below from 900, the answer is greater than 300. Which number is it?

A. 823
B. 712
C. 667

D. 579

Answer: D

 


2. What is 3 times 23 ?
A. 323
B. 233
C. 69

D. 26

Answer: C

 


3. Subtract: 6000-2369=
A. 4369
B. 3742
C. 3631

D. 3531

Answer: C

 


4. 25 x 18 is more than 24 x 18. How much more?
A. 1
B. 18
C. 24

D. 25

Answer: B

 


5. Add: 6971 + 5291 =
A. 11162
B. 12162
C. 12262

D. 1211162

Answer: C

 


6. In which of the pair of numbers is the second number 100 more than the first number?
A. 199 and 209
B. 4236 and 4246
C. 9635 and 9735

D. 51863 and 52863

Answer: C

 


7. q stands for a number. 7 x q will always give the same answer as
A. q x 7
B. q + 7
C. q - 7
D. 7 + q

E. q / 7

Answer: A

 


8. John wanted to use his calculator to add 1463 and 319. He entered 1263 + 319 by mistake. What could he do to correct his mistake?
A. Add 200
B. Add 2
C. Subtract 2

D. Subtract 200

Answer: A

 


9. Which of these is the largest number?
A. 2735
B. 2537
C. 2573

D. 2753

Answer: D

 


10. Here is a number sentence
2000 + q + 30 + 9 = 2739
What number goes where q is to make this sentence true?
Answer:__________

 

Answer: 700

 


11. What is the smallest whole number that you can make using the digits 4, 3, 9 and 1 ? Use each digit only once.
Answer:__________

 

Answer: 1349

 


12.

Addition Fact

4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 20

Write the addition fact as a multiplication fact.
_____x_____=_____

 

Answer: 4 x 5 = 20 or 5 x 4 = 20

 


13. Write the number that is 1000 more than 56821.
Answer: __________

 

Answer: 57821

 


14. In a game, Msyong and Naoki are making addition problems. They each have four cars like these.
1
2
3
4
The winner of the game is the person who can make the problem with the largest answer.
Mysong placed the cards like this. Naoki placed the cards like this.
4
3
3
1
2
1
2
4
+_________________
+______________

 

Who won the game?________________

How do you know? _____________________________________
Write numbers in the squares below to show how you would place the cards to beat both Mysong and Naoki.
+_________________

 

Answer: Mysong. 64 and 55 are shown (or 9 which is the difference between 64 and 55) with correct verbal explanation.

Answer for part b: One of the following: 42 + 31; 41 + 32; 31 + 42; or 32 + 41

 

Fractions and Proportionality

1. 0.4 is the same as
A. four
B. four tenths
C. four hundredths

D. one-fourth

Answer: B

 


2. Mario uses five tomatoes to make half a liter of tomato sauce. How much sauce can he make from 15 tomatoes?
A. a liter and half
B. two liters
C. two liters and half

D. three liters

Answer: A

 


3. There are 54 marbles, and they are put into 6 bags, so that the same number of marbles is in each bag. How many marbles would two bags contain?
A. 108 marbles
B. 18 marbles
C. 15 marbles
D. 12 marbles

E. 9 marbles

Answer: B

 


4. Julie put a box on a shelf that is 96.4 centimeters long. The box is 33.2 centimeters long. What is the longest box she could put on the rest of the shelf? Show all your work.
 
Answer:_______________

.

Answer: 63.2

 


5. A teacher marks 10 of her pupils' tests every half hour. It takes her one and half hours to mark all her pupils' tests. How many pupils are in her class?
 
Answer:_______________

 

Answer: 30

 


6. There are 10 girls and 20 boys in Juanita's class. Juanita said that there is one girl for every two boys. Her friend Amanda said that means 1/2 of all the students in the class are girls.
How many student are there in Juanita's class?. Answer:______________
Is Juanita right? Answer:______________
Use words or picture to explain why.

Is Amanda right? Answer:___________

Answer: Yes. 20 is twice as much as 10 or 10 is half as much as 20.

Answer: No. 10 is not half of 30

 


7. Write a fraction that is larger than 2/7.
Answer:______________

 

Answer: A fraction with numerator greater then 2 and denominator equal to 7. A fraction with numerator equal to 2 and denominator less than 7. 3/8

 


8. Maria and her sister Louisa leave home at the same time and ride their bicycles to school 9 kilometers away.
Maria rides at a rate of 3 kilometers in 10 minutes. How long will it take her to get to school?
Answer:_________________
Louisa rides at a rate of 1 kilometer in 3 minutes. How long will it take her to get to school?
Answer:_____________
Who Arrives at school first?

Answer:_______________

Answer: 30

Answer: 27
Answer: Louisa

 

Measurement, Estimation, and Number Sense

1. Which of these is largest?

A. 1 kilogram
B. 1 centigram
C. 1 milligram

D. 1 gram

Answer: A

 


2. Elena worked 57 hours in March, 62 hours in April, and 59 hours in May. Which of these is the BEST estimate of the total number of hours she worked for the three months?
A. 50+50+50
B. 55+55+55
C. 60+60+60

D. 65+65+65

Answer: C

 


3. A thin wire 20centimeters long is formed into a rectangle. If the width of this rectangle is 4 centimeters, what is its length?
A. 5 centimeters
B. 6 centimeters
C. 12 centimeters

D. 16 centimeters

Answer: B

 


4. The weight (mass) of a clothespin is 9.2 g. Which of these is the best estimate of the total weight (mass) of 1000 clothespins?
A. 900g
B. 9000g
C. 90 000g

D. 900 000g

Answer: B

 


5. Four children measured the width of a room by counting how many paces it took them to cross it. The chart shows their measurement.
Name Number of paces
Stephen 10
Erlane 8
Ana 9
Carlos 7
Who had the longest pace?
A. Stephen
B. Erlane
C. Ana

D. Carlos

Answer: D

 


6. Which of these would most likely be measured in milliliters?
A. The amount of liquid in a teaspoon
B. The weight (mass) of a pin
C. The amount of gasoline in a tank

D. The thickness of 10 sheets of paper

Answer: A

 


7. Mr. Brown goes for a walk and returns to where he started at 07:00. If his walk took 1 hour and 30 minutes, at what time did he start his walk?
Answer:_____________________________
 

Answer: 05:30 or 5:30

 


8. How many millimeters are in a meter?
Answer:______________________________

 

Answer: 1000

 


Data Representation. Analysis and Probability
1. Kyle and Bob are playing a game. The object of the game is to get the highest total of points. This chart shows how many points they each scored.
Player Kyle Bob
Round 1 125 100
Round 2 125 125
Round 3 150 100
Round 4 50 150
Who won, and by how many points?
A. Bob won by 25 points
B. Bob won by 100 points
C. Kyle won by 25 points

D. Kyle won by 175 points

Answer: A

 


2. A team is selling raffle tickets. The table shows how many tickets they have sold so far.
Player's Name Number of tickets sold
Carlos 4
Maria 7
Bill 3
Ted 7
Fay 6
Abby 9
They need to sell 60 tickets altogether. How many more tickets must they sell?
Answer: ______________________________
 

Answer: 24

 


Patterns, Relations, and Functions

1. Tanya has read the first 78 pages in a book that is 130 pages long. Which number sentence could Tanya use to find the number of pages she must read to finish the book?
A. 130+78=?
B. ?-78=130
C. 130/78=?

D. 130-78=?

Answer: D

 


2. What do you have to do to each number in column A to get the number next to it in column B?
Column A Column B
10 2
15 3
25 5
50 10
A. Add 8 to the number in column A.
B. Subtract 8 from the number in column A.
C. Multiply the number in Column A by 5.
D. Divide the number in Column A by 5.
 
Answer: D

 


3. Which pair of numbers follows the rule "Multiply the first number by 5 to get the second number"?

A. 15--3

B. 6--11
C. 11-6
D. 3--15
 
Answer: D

 


4. Henry is older than Bill, and Bill is older than Peter. Which statement must be true?
A. Henry is older than Peter.
B. Henry is younger than Peter.
C. Henry is the same age as Peter.
D. We cannot tell who is oldest from the information given.
 
Answer: A

 


5. These numbers are part of a pattern.
50,46,42,38,34,....
What do you have to do to get the next number?
Answer:________________________________
 
Answer: The number decreases by 4