The Earth’s Hardest Word Problems

The problems here reflect the order of difficulty on most standardized exams. These questions test your ability to read the question correctly. Most students are not aware how tricky the wording is. We at BeatTheTest™ recommend that you read through all of the questions first, and then proceed with answering them. Feel free to talk to your math teachers in high school about any questions you got wrong in this book.

1)

Out of a gym class 25 students, ⅕ of the kids are taller than 5'4''. If three kids join the class, how many students in the class are shorter than 5'4'' if the porportion of tall kids increases to ¼?

  • B) 1
  • D) 22
  • E) 19
  • F) 14
  • G) 21

2)

The probability of a ninth grader getting into Mr. Troll's 9th grade drafting class in 5%. 40% of Mr. Troll's students earn a D in the class. The 9th grade has 600 students. How many kids in the 9th grade will not get a D in Mr. Troll's drafting class?

  • B) 30
  • D) 12
  • E) 360
  • F) 588
  • G) 18

3)

Chalmers and Janice have identical jobs. Janice's salary, however, is 70% of Chalmers. At the end of each year, both Janice and Chalmers receive a 3% cost of living adjustment. How many years will Janice have to work at this job to out earn Chalmers?

  • B) Janice will never outearn Chalmers
  • D) 5 years
  • E) 7 years
  • F) 10 years
  • G) Cannot be determined from the data provided

4)

On Thursday Joan's mom put 3/7 of her pay to rent and 1/14 of it for the gas bill. She then paid 2/6 for food and electricity. How much of her paycheck is left until she gets paid in another two weeks?

  • B) 7/42
  • D) 2/6
  • E) 7/14
  • F) 3/7
  • G) 1/12

5)

Anthony and Yuri love to play in their local playground. The playground is near a closed landfill. They have lived near the playground since they were born. For nearly 20 years, toxic heavy metals including mercury and chromium were disposed into the landfill. Assume exposure to 100 micrograms of these metals will result in terrible health problems. In addition, assume 7 ⅔ micrograms are absorbed per annum by a child. If Anthony and Yuri are 6 years old now, how many years will it take for the level of these metals to equal 100 micrograms (to the nearest whole year)?

  • I) Anthony and Yuri will never reach that level
  • J) 7 years
  • M) 1 year
  • N) 8 years
  • O) 13 years