CogAT lessonsQuantitative Battery
CogAT number puzzles
A short equation with a question mark, and sometimes a shape that stands for a number. Your child finds the number that makes both sides equal.
What your child sees
Grade 4, a question like this one
3 × ? = 27 − 6
Which number should replace the question mark?
- A21
- B8
- C6
- D7
- E9
Kindergarten to Grade 2, read aloud
Look at the two trains. The bottom train needs to carry the same number of dots as the top train. Which car should go in the empty space?
- A
- B
- C
Show the answer and whyHide the answer
Count all the dots on the top train
5.
Count the dots the bottom train already has: 3.
How many more make 5? 5 − 3 = 2.
Final answer
The car with 2 dots.
Remember
Count every dot on the top train.
Up to Grade 2 the puzzles are trains that must carry the same number of things, read aloud, with three choices (four for Grade 2's number sentences).
Worked example
The same question, one step at a time.
- 1Work out every part you already know first, including any shape that stands for a number.
- 2Then undo the step next to the question mark: subtracting undoes adding, and dividing undoes multiplying.
- 327 − 6 = 21, and 21 ÷ 3 = 7.
- 4Final answer: 7.
Common traps
Every wrong choice is built from a mistake children really make.
Stopping halfway
Working out one side is only the first step. The choice that equals that side is there for a child who stops.
In the example: choice A (21).
Skipping a step
Dividing before working out the other side, or ignoring a shape's value, gives a nearby number.
In the example: choice E (9).
One off
Numbers one or two away from the answer catch a small slip. Put the answer back into the puzzle to check it.
In the example: choices B (8) and C (6).
Where it is on the test
Number puzzles is one of the three parts of the Quantitative Battery. Up to Grade 2 it is a picture version, read aloud with no time limit.
| Grade | Part | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten (Level 5/6) | Number puzzles | 10 | No time limit |
| Grade 1 (Level 7) | Number puzzles | 12 | No time limit |
| Grade 2 (Level 8) | Number puzzles | 14 | No time limit |
| Grade 3 (Level 9) | Number puzzles | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 4 (Level 10) | Number puzzles | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 5 (Level 11) | Number puzzles | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 6 (Level 12) | Number puzzles | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 7 (Level 13/14) | Number puzzles | 16 | 10 minutes |
| Grade 8 (Level 13/14) | Number puzzles | 16 | 10 minutes |
Counts and times are Riverside Insights’ published figures.
Try it
Ten free Quantitative Battery questions, new every time, with the score at the end. You will be asked to make a free account.
The other parts of the Quantitative Battery
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