Maths competition practice

Maths competition practice paper for Years 1 and 2

A free paper in the shape of the Kangaroo Math Competition's Pre-Ecolier level (Standard 1 and 2 in Malaysia): 24 questions in 75 minutes, five choices each, for 96 points. Print it, then check every answer and its working at the end.

See the answersSit a new paper online

Scholar Tests · Sample paper

Maths competition paper, Years 1 and 2

24 questions · 96 points · 75 minutes · no negative marking

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Questions 1 to 8

Questions 1 to 8, 3 points each. Circle the letter of the best answer.

  1. 1.

    Dina, Gus and Theo are playing, and one of them has the ball.
    Dina says: "I do not have the ball."
    Gus says: "I do not have the ball."
    Theo says: "Dina has the ball."
    Exactly one of them is telling the truth. Who has the ball?

    1. AGus
    2. BDina
    3. CHana
    4. DTheo
    5. ELena
  2. 2.

    Sara is taller than Ava. Yara is taller than Lena. Zoe is taller than Yara. Lena is taller than Sara.
    Who is the tallest?

    1. ALena
    2. BYara
    3. CAva
    4. DSara
    5. EZoe
  3. 3.

    How many shaded circles are there in the picture?

    1. A3
    2. B1
    3. C6
    4. D0
    5. E2
  4. 4.

    Use each of the digits 6, 9 and 5 once. What is the largest number you can make?

    1. A965
    2. B569
    3. C695
    4. D659
    5. E956
  5. 5.

    Five cards, each with a shape on it, were put down one at a time. Which card was put down first?

    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    5. E
  6. 6.

    1 cube weighs the same as 3 apples. How many apples weigh the same as 4 cubes?

    1. A15
    2. B3
    3. C9
    4. D12
    5. E7
  7. 7.

    The shapes keep repeating in the same way. Which shape is 10th?

    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    5. E
  8. 8.

    A frog starts on 2 on a number line and hops forward 3 each time: 2, 5, 8, and so on. Where does it land after 5 hops?

    1. A12
    2. B20
    3. C18
    4. D17
    5. E14

Questions 9 to 16

Questions 9 to 16, 4 points each. Circle the letter of the best answer.

  1. 9.

    1 shell weighs the same as 3 apples. 1 apple weighs the same as 4 pears. How many pears weigh the same as 1 shell?

    1. A9
    2. B11
    3. C4
    4. D12
    5. E3
  2. 10.

    How many shaded circles are there in the picture?

    1. A3
    2. B4
    3. C2
    4. D7
    5. E5
  3. 11.

    Five cards, each with a shape on it, were put down one at a time. Which card was put down second?

    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    5. E
  4. 12.

    The shapes keep repeating in the same way. Which shape is 36th?

    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    5. E
  5. 13.

    Wes is heavier than Hana. Uma is heavier than Ava. Ava is heavier than Omar. Hana is heavier than Ava.
    Who is the fourth heaviest?

    1. AHana
    2. BUma
    3. CAva
    4. DOmar
    5. EWes
  6. 14.

    Use each of the digits 0, 3, 4 and 9 once. What is the smallest number you can make? A number cannot start with 0.

    1. A3049
    2. B3490
    3. C349
    4. D3409
    5. E3094
  7. 15.

    A frog starts on 3 on a number line and hops forward 4 each time: 3, 7, 11, and so on. Where does it land after 11 hops?

    1. A43
    2. B47
    3. C51
    4. D48
    5. E36
  8. 16.

    How many shaded circles are there in the picture?

    1. A4
    2. B3
    3. C8
    4. D5
    5. E2

Questions 17 to 24

Questions 17 to 24, 5 points each. Circle the letter of the best answer.

  1. 17.

    A frog starts on 10 on a number line and hops forward 3 each time: 10, 13, 16, and so on. Which of these numbers does it land on?

    1. A67
    2. B69
    3. C68
    4. D66
    5. E65
  2. 18.

    How many triangles that have a square directly to their right are there in the picture?

    1. A4
    2. B5
    3. C3
    4. D6
    5. E7
  3. 19.

    Five cards, each with a shape on it, were put down one at a time. Which card was put down third?

    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    5. E
  4. 20.

    The shapes keep repeating in the same way. How many triangles are there in the first 38 shapes?

    1. A13
    2. B15
    3. C11
    4. D14
    5. E12
  5. 21.

    1 pear and 1 ball together weigh the same as 5 blocks. 1 pear weighs the same as 3 blocks. How many blocks weigh the same as 4 balls?

    1. A8
    2. B9
    3. C20
    4. D12
    5. E2
  6. 22.

    The shapes keep repeating in the same way. In which place is the 14th square?

    1. A56
    2. B51
    3. C59
    4. D54
    5. E55
  7. 23.

    Milo is slower than Nia. Nia is slower than Uma. Nia is slower than Eli. Lena is faster than Nia.
    Who is the fourth fastest?

    1. ANia
    2. BLena
    3. CUma
    4. DEli
    5. EMilo
  8. 24.

    Use each of the digits 3, 7, 9 and 8 once to make two two-digit numbers. What is the largest sum the two numbers can have?

    1. A179
    2. B181
    3. C180
    4. D171
    5. E189

Answers and working

Questions 1 to 8

  1. 1.A (Gus). Try each child as the one with the ball and count the true statements. Only when Gus has it is exactly one statement true.
  2. 2.E (Zoe). From tallest to shortest, the order is Zoe, Yara, Lena, Sara, Ava. So the answer is Zoe.
  3. 3.E (2). Going row by row and ticking each one that fits, there are 2 shaded circles.
  4. 4.A (965). The largest number you can make from 6, 9 and 5 is 965.
  5. 5.B. Wherever two cards overlap, the card on top came later. That gives the order square, heart, circle, triangle, star, so the card with the square was put down first.
  6. 6.D (12). Each cube can be swapped for 3 apples, so 4 cubes weigh the same as 4 × 3 = 12 apples.
  7. 7.B. The pattern repeats every 3 shapes. 10 = 3 × 3 + 1, so the 10th shape is the same as the 1st: a star.
  8. 8.D (17). 5 hops of 3 take the frog 15 along, from 2 to 17.

Questions 9 to 16

  1. 9.D (12). 1 shell weighs the same as 3 apples, and each apple is 4 pears, so the answer is 3 × 4 = 12.
  2. 10.A (3). Going row by row and ticking each one that fits, there are 3 shaded circles.
  3. 11.B. Wherever two cards overlap, the card on top came later. That gives the order triangle, heart, star, square, circle, so the card with the heart was put down second.
  4. 12.A. The pattern repeats every 4 shapes. 36 = 4 × 8 + 4, so the 36th shape is the same as the 4th: a heart.
  5. 13.C (Ava). The clues do not fix the whole order, but in every order they allow, Ava is in that place.
  6. 14.A (3049). The smallest number you can make from 0, 3, 4 and 9 is 3049.
  7. 15.B (47). 11 hops of 4 take the frog 44 along, from 3 to 47.
  8. 16.A (4). Going row by row and ticking each one that fits, there are 4 shaded circles.

Questions 17 to 24

  1. 17.A (67). The frog lands on 10 plus a whole number of 3s. 67 − 10 = 57 = 19 × 3, so it lands on 67. None of the others is a whole number of hops from 10.
  2. 18.A (4). Going row by row and ticking each one that fits, there are 4 triangles that have a square directly to their right.
  3. 19.C. Wherever two cards overlap, the card on top came later. That gives the order circle, heart, triangle, star, square, so the card with the triangle was put down third.
  4. 20.A (13). Each repeat of 3 shapes has 1 triangle. 38 shapes make 12 whole repeats (12) and 2 more shapes, which hold 1. So there are 13.
  5. 21.A (8). Take the pear off: 5 − 3 = 2, so one ball weighs the same as 2 blocks, and 4 balls weigh the same as 8 blocks.
  6. 22.E (55). Each repeat of 4 shapes has 1 square. Counting them repeat by repeat, the 14th square is shape number 55.
  7. 23.A (Nia). The clues do not fix the whole order, but in every order they allow, Nia is in that place.
  8. 24.C (180). The tens digits count ten times as much, so the two biggest digits, 9 and 8, go in the tens places: 97 + 83 = 180.

Written by Scholar Tests in the Kangaroo Math Competition's published shape. Not a past paper. We are not connected with Kangourou sans Frontières, Kangaroo Math Malaysia or any national organiser of the competition.

Sit a new paper online

Every online paper is new, timed like the real thing, and marked the moment it ends: 3, 4 or 5 points a question, with nothing taken off for a wrong answer.

  • Pre-Ecolier (Years 1 and 2)

    24 questions · 75 minutes

    Logic, patterns, counting and picture puzzles, the hardest last. No calculator.

Questions parents ask

Is this paper right for Years 1 and 2?
Yes. It is the Pre-Ecolier level, which the competition sets for Years 1 and 2 (Standard 1 and 2 in Malaysia). A child in the younger year will find more of the last questions hard. That is how it is meant to be.
How is it marked?
Questions 1 to 8 are worth 3 points each, 9 to 16 are worth 4 and the last 8 are worth 5, so the paper is out of 96. Our marking takes nothing off for a wrong answer; check your own country's rules, as some take a quarter of the points off.
Can my child use a calculator?
No. The competition allows no calculator, only rough paper. Practise the same way.
Is it free?
The printed papers are free, with every answer. Online, a free account includes 3 practice tests. The maths competition pack (RM99 for 6 months) opens unlimited tests and shows the right answer and the working for every question.
Are these real past papers?
No. We write our own questions in the competition's published shape. Past papers belong to the organisers. We are not connected with Kangourou sans Frontières, Kangaroo Math Malaysia or any national organiser of the competition.

Papers for other years

Years 3 and 4Years 5 and 6Years 7 and 8Years 9 and 10Years 11 and 12