🧠 Brain Power Challenge Paper — Tricky Questions(class 6--9)

1. A train travels at 60 km/h. It passes a station in 36 seconds. How long is the train?
2. If the sum of three consecutive even numbers is 78, find the numbers.
3. A jar contains 20 red, 30 blue, and 50 green marbles. What is the probability of picking a red
marble?
4. The perimeter of a rectangle is 60 cm. If the length is twice the width, find its area.
5. Arrange these fractions in ascending order: 5/6, 7/8, 4/5, 9/10.
6. A shop sells pencils at ₹2 each. If a boy buys some pencils for ₹30, how many pencils did he
buy?
7. A bag contains 5 red, 7 blue, and 8 green balls. What fraction of balls are blue?
8. If 3 times a number is increased by 9, the result is 48. Find the number.
9. A box contains 120 chocolates. If 1/4 are eaten, how many remain?
10. A car travels 240 km in
4 hours. Find its speed.
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11. A shopkeeper buys pencils at ₹6 each and sells them at ₹8 each. If he sells 100 pencils, but 10
are lost, what is his profit percentage?
12. A wire is bent into a square of side 10 cm. It is then rebent to form a rectangle with length
twice its breadth. Find the rectangle’s area.
13. If the ratio of ages of two brothers is 4:5 and their age difference is 5 years, find their ages.
14. A jar contains some red and blue balls. The probability of picking a red ball is twice that of
picking a blue ball. If there are 9 red balls, how many blue balls are there?
15. Without calculating, which is bigger: √50 or 7? Justify.
16. A tank can hold 500 litres of water. If it is filled at 25 litres/minute, how long will it take to fill
completely?
17. The sum of two numbers is 90. If one number is twice the other, find the numbers.
18. A rectangle has length 15 cm and breadth 12 cm. Find its diagonal.
19. A shopkeeper sells an article for ₹420 with a gain of 20%. Find the cost price.
20. If a clock gains 2 minutes every day, how much t
ime will it gain in a week?
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21. The sum of the squares of two consecutive integers is 365. Find the integers.
22. A car travels from A to B at 60 km/h and returns at 40 km/h. Find the average speed for the
entire trip.
23. A tank can be filled by two pipes in 12 hours and 15 hours respectively. If both pipes are
opened together for 4 hours, how much of the tank is left to fill?
24. A number is increased by 25% and then decreased by 20%. What is the net change in
percentage?
25. A fraction becomes 1/3 when 1 is added to both numerator and denominator. Find the
fraction.
26. A rope 17 m long is cut into two pieces such that the longer piece is 3 m more than twice the
shorter piece. Find the lengths of both pieces.
27. A car covers a certain distance in 6 hours. If its speed had been 5 km/h more, it would have
taken 1 hour less. Find the distance.
28. A school has 720 students. If 40% are boys, how many girls are there?
29. A man invests ₹12,000 at a simple interest rate of 8% per annum. Find the interest after 3
years.
30. Two pipes can fill a tank in 18 hours and 24 hours respectively. If both are opened together, in
how much time
will the tank be filled?
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31. A shopkeeper marks his goods 20% above cost price and allows a discount of 10%. Find his
gain or loss percentage.
32. A train travels 480 km partly at 60 km/h and partly at 80 km/h. If the total time is 7 hours, how
much distance was travelled at each speed?
33. A metallic sphere of radius 6 cm is melted to form smaller spheres each of radius 2 cm. How
many smaller spheres are formed?
34. The sum of the ages of A and B is 45 years. Five years ago, the ratio of their ages was 7:8. Find
their present ages.
35. A number is such that when it is multiplied by 7 and then increased by 5, the result is the
square of an integer. Find the number.
36. The sum of three consecutive multiples of 5 is 120. Find the numbers.
37. A motorboat goes 20 km upstream and 30 km downstream in 5 hours. If the speed of the
stream is 2 km/h, find the speed of the boat in still water.
38. A train 120 m long passes a man, running at 6 km/h in the same direction in 18 seconds. The
speed of the train is?
39. A two-digit number is such that the sum of its digits is 12. If 36 is added to the number, the
digits interchange. Find the number.
40. A solid metallic cylinder has radius 7 cm and height 15 cm. It is melted to make smaller
spheres each of radius 3.5 cm. Find the number of spheres formed.

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Q1.
Question: A train travels at 60 kilometers per hour. It passes a station in 36 seconds. How long is
the train?

Answer: 600 meters

Explanation:

First, we notice the speed is in kilometers per hour but the time is in seconds. We need to convert
speed into meters per second so units match.
1 kilometer = 1000 meters and 1 hour = 3600 seconds. So:
60 × 1000 ÷ 3600 = 16.67 meters per second.

Speed tells us how far something travels in one second. If the train moves 16.67 meters in one
second and takes 36 seconds to pass the station completely, we multiply:
16.67 × 36 = 600 meters.
Final Answer: The train is 600 meters long.

Q2.
Question: If the sum of three consecutive even numbers is 78, find the numbers.

Answer: 24, 26, 28

Explanation:

Consecutive even numbers differ by 2. Let the smallest number be something we call “x”, then
the next two numbers are “x + 2” and “x + 4”.

Adding them together: x + (x + 2) + (x + 4) = 78.

That means: 3x + 6 = 78.

Subtract 6 from both sides: 3x = 72.

Divide by 3: x = 24.
So the three numbers are: 24, 26, and 28.

Final Answer: 24, 26, 28.

Q3.
Question: A jar contains 20 red, 30 blue, and 50 green marbles. What is the probability of picking
a red marble?
Answer: 1 out of 5 (or 1/5)
Explanation:

Probability means “how likely something will happen” and is found by dividing the number of
favourable results by the total number of possibilities.

Here: Total marbles = 20 + 30 + 50 = 100.

Number of red marbles = 20.
Probability = 20 ÷ 100 = 0.2 = 1/5.

Final Answer: 1/5.

Q4.
Question: The perimeter of a rectangle is 60 cm. If the length is twice the breadth, find its area.
Answer: 200 cm²

Explanation:
Perimeter of a rectangle means twice the sum of length and breadth:
2 × (length + breadth) = 60.
Let breadth = something we call “x”, then length = 2 × x.
So: 2 × (x + 2x) = 60 → 2 × 3x = 60 → 6x = 60 → x = 10.
Breadth = 10 cm, length = 20 cm.
Area = length × breadth = 20 × 10 = 200 cm².

Final Answer: 200 cm².

Q5.
Question: Arrange fractions: 5/6, 7/8, 4/5, 9/10.
Answer: 4/5, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10

Explanation:
To compare fractions easily, we can turn them into decimal form.
5/6 = about 0.833, 7/8 = 0.875, 4/5 = 0.8, 9/10 = 0.9.

Arrangedecimalsfrom smallest to largest: 0.8, 0.833, 0.875, 0.9.

So fractions in ascending order: 4/5, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10.

Q6.
Question: A shop sells pencils at ₹2 each. If a boy buys pencils for ₹30, how many pencils did he
buy?
Answer: 15 pencils
Explanation:
If each pencil costs ₹2 and the boy spends ₹30, then we divide total money by price per pencil:
30 ÷ 2 = 15 pencils.

Q7.
Question: A bag contains 5 red, 7 blue, and 8 green balls. What fraction of balls are blue?
Answer: 7/20

Explanation:
Total balls = 5 + 7 + 8 = 20.
Blue balls = 7.
Fraction = 7 ÷ 20 = 7/20.

Q8.
Question: If 3 times a number is increased by 9, the result is 48. Find the number.
Answer: 13

Explanation:
Let the number be “x”. Then: 3 × x + 9 = 48.
Subtract 9: 3 × x = 39.
Divide by 3: x = 13.

Q9.
Question: A box contains 120 chocolates. If 1/4 are eaten, how many remain?
Answer: 90 chocolates

Explanation:
1/4 eaten means: 120 × 1/4 = 30 chocolates eaten.
Remaining chocolates: 120 − 30 = 90.

Q10.
Question: A car travels 240 km in 4 hours. Find its speed.
Answer: 60 km/h

Explanation:
Speed means how far something moves in a certain time:
240 ÷ 4 = 60 km/h.

Q11.
Question: A shopkeeper buys pencils at ₹6 each and sells them at ₹8 each. If he sells 100 pencils,
but 10 are lost, what is his profit percentage?
Answer: 20% profit

Explanation:
Step 1: First, find the cost price of all pencils. He bought 100 pencils at ₹6 each → 100 × 6 = ₹600.
Step 2: But 10 pencils were lost, so he could only sell 90 pencils.
Selling price = 90 × 8 = ₹720.
Step 3: Profit = Selling price − Cost price = ₹720 − ₹600 = ₹120.
Step 4: Profit percentage = (Profit ÷ Cost price) × 100 = (120 ÷ 600) × 100 = 20%.
Why we did it this way:
We calculated the total cost and total selling price, then compared them to find the profit. Then
we converted the profit into a percentage so we know how much gain he made compared to his
investment.

Q12.
Question: A wire is bent into a square of side 10 cm. It is then rebent to form a rectangle with
length twice its breadth. Find the rectangle’s area.
Answer: About 88.9 cm²

Explanation:
Step 1: Perimeter of square = 4 × side = 4 × 10 = 40 cm.
That means the wire length = 40 cm.
Step 2: Now the same wire is reshaped into a rectangle, so perimeter of rectangle = 40 cm.
Let breadth = b cm and length = 2b cm.
Perimeter formula says: 2 × (length + breadth) = 40.
So: 2 × (2b + b) = 40 → 6b = 40 → b = 6.67 cm.
Step 3: Length = 2 × breadth = 13.33 cm.
Area = length × breadth = 13.33 × 6.67 ≈ 88.9 cm².

Why we did it this way:

We used the fact that the wire length is fixed and perimeter of the rectangle equals wire length.
Then we found breadth, length, and area step-by-step.

Q13.
Question: If the ratio of ages of two brothers is 4:5 and their age difference is 5 years, find their
ages.
Answer: 20 years and 25 years

Explanation:
Step 1: Ratio means the ages are in parts — 4 parts and 5 parts.
Difference = 1 part.
1 part = 5 years.
Step 2: Younger brother = 4 parts = 4 × 5 = 20 years.
Older brother = 5 parts = 5 × 5 = 25 years.

Why we did it this way:

We converted the ratio into parts so that difference in ages gave us one part’s value, making it
easy to find actual ages.

Q14.
Question: A jar contains some red and blue balls. The probability of picking a red ball is twice
that of picking a blue ball. If there are 9 red balls, how many blue balls are there?
Answer: 4 or 5 blue balls depending on context

Explanation:
Step 1: Probability of red = twice probability of blue means red balls = 2 × blue balls.
Step 2: Red balls = 9, so blue balls = 9 ÷ 2 = 4.5.
Since we cannot have half a ball, we round to either 4 or 5 depending on question context.

Why we did it this way:

We used probability relationships to form a ratio, then solved for unknown number of balls.

Q15.
Question: Without calculating, which is bigger: square root of 50 or 7? Justify.
Answer: Square root of 50 is slightly bigger than 7
Explanation:
Step 1: We know 7 × 7 = 49.
Step 2: Square root of 50 will be slightly more than 7 because 50 is just above 49.
Step 3: We check: 7.1 × 7.1 = 50.41, confirming √50 ≈ 7.07.

Why we did it this way:

We compared squares close to 50 without full calculation to quickly decide which number is
bigger.

Q16.
Question: A tank can hold 500 litres of water. If it is filled at 25 litres per minute, how long will it
take to fill completely?
Answer: 20 minutes
Explanation:
Step 1: Time = total quantity ÷ rate of filling.
500 ÷ 25 = 20 minutes.

Why we did it this way:

We directly applied the concept of rate × time = quantity to find the time required.

Q17.
Question: The sum of two numbers is 90. If one number is twice the other, find the numbers.
Answer: 30 and 60

Explanation:
Step 1: Let smaller number = a, larger number = 2a.
Sum = a + 2a = 3a = 90 → a = 30.
Step 2: Smaller number = 30, larger number = 60.

Why we did it this way:

We translated the given condition into a relationship between numbers and solved step-by-step.

Q18.
Question: A rectangle has length 15 cm and breadth 12 cm. Find its diagonal.
Answer: About 19.2 cm

Explanation:

Step 1: The diagonal is the slant across the rectangle, forming a right-angled triangle.
We use: diagonal² = length² + breadth².
15² = 225, 12² = 144 → 225 + 144 = 369.
Diagonal = √369 ≈ 19.2 cm.

Why we did it this way:

We applied the Pythagoras principle because the diagonal is the hypotenuse of a right triangle.

Q19.

Question: A shopkeeper sells an article for ₹420 with a gain of 20%. Find the cost price.
Answer: ₹350

Explanation:
Step 1: Selling price = cost price + 20% of cost price = 1.2 × cost price.
420 = 1.2 × cost price → cost price = 420 ÷ 1.2 = ₹350.

Why we did it this way:

We used the definition of gain percentage to set up the relationship and solved for cost price.

Q20.

Question: If a clock gains 2 minutes every day, how much time will it gain in a week?

Answer: 14 m
inutes
Explanation:

Step 1: Gain per day = 2 minutes.

In 7 days: 2 × 7 = 14 minutes gained.

Why we did it this way:

We multiplied daily gain by number of days to find total gain in a week.

Q21.

Question: A tank has two pipes. One can fill the tank in 12 hours and the other can fill it in 16
hours. If both are opened together, how long will it take to fill the tank?

Answer: 6.86 hours (about 6 hours 52 minutes)

Explanation:

Step 1: First, find how much of the tank each pipe fills in one hour.
Pipe 1: 1/12 of tank per hour.
Pipe 2: 1/16 of tank per hour.

Step 2: Together in one hour:

1/12 + 1/16 = (16 + 12) / (12 × 16) = 28/192 = 7/48 of tank per hour.

Step 3: Time to fill tank = 1 ÷ (7/48) = 48/7 ≈ 6.86 hours.

Step 4: Convert 0.86 hours into minutes: 0.86 × 60 ≈ 52 minutes.

Why we did it this way:

We added the filling rates of the pipes to find combined rate and then found the total time.

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Q22.

Question: A man borrows ₹2000 at 10% simple interest per year. Find the interest for 3 years.

Answer: ₹600
Explanation:

Step 1: Simple interest formula = (Principal × Rate × Time) ÷ 100.

Principal = ₹2000, Rate = 10%, Time = 3 years.
Interest = (2000 × 10 × 3) ÷ 100 = ₹600.

Why we did it this way:

We directly applied the simple interest formula because rate and time were given.

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Q23.

Question: A sum of money becomes double in 8 years at simple interest. In how many years will
it become four times?

Answer: 24 years

Explanation:

Step 1: Doubling means interest = principal in 8 years.

Interest per year = principal ÷ 8.

Step 2: To become four times: interest = 3 × principal.

Time = (3 × principal) ÷ (principal/8) = 24 years.

Why we did it this way:

We compared how interest grows under simple interest to find time for quadruple growth.

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Q24.

Question: A shopkeeper marks goods 20% above cost price and allows a discount of 10%. Find his
gain percentage.
Answer: 8%

Explanation:

Step 1: Let cost price = ₹100.

Marked price = ₹120.

Step 2: Discount = 10% of ₹120 = ₹12.

Selling price = 120 − 12 = ₹108.

Step 3: Gain = 108 − 100 = ₹8.

Gain percentage = (8 ÷ 100) × 100 = 8%.

Why we did it this way:

We first calculated the selling price after discount, then compared it to cost price to find gain
percentage.

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Q25.

Question: A car covers half the distance at 40 km/h and the other half at 60 km/h. Find the
average speed.

Answer: 48 km/h

Explanation:

Step 1: Average speed for equal distances = 2 × (speed1 × speed2) ÷ (speed1 + speed2).
= 2 × (40 × 60) ÷ (40 + 60) = 4800 ÷ 100 = 48 km/h.

Why we did it this way:

This is a special average speed formula for equal distances.

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Q26.
Question: If 4 men can do a work in 12 days, how many days will 6 men take?

Answer: 8 days

Explanation:

Step 1: Work done × number of men × number of days is constant.

4 men × 12 days = 48 man-days.

Step 2: For 6 men: 48 ÷ 6 = 8 days.

Why we did it this way:

We used the concept that more workers mean fewer days for same work.

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Q27.

Question: The ratio of the ages of A and B is 5:7. After 8 years, A’s age will be 40. Find their
present ages.

Answer: A = 32 years, B = 44.8 years

Explanation:

Step 1: Let ages = 5x and 7x.

After 8 years: 5x + 8 = 40 → 5x = 32 → x = 6.4.

Step 2: Present ages: A = 5 × 6.4 = 32 years, B = 7 × 6.4 = 44.8 years.

Why we did it this way:

We converted the ratio into a variable form and solved for it using given condition.

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Q28.

Question: If the area of a circle is 154 cm², find its radius. (Take π = 22/7)

Answer: 7 cm

Explanation:

Step 1: Area of circle = π × radius².

154 = (22/7) × radius² → radius² = 49 → radius = 7 cm.

Why we did it this way:

We rearranged the area formula to find the radius.

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Q29.

Question: The sum of the ages of a father and son is 50 years. Father’s age is 4 times son’s age 5
years ago. Find their present ages.

Answer: Father = 40 years, Son = 10 years

Explanation:

Step 1: Let son’s age = x, father’s = 50 − x.

Five years ago: father’s age = (50 − x) − 5, son’s = x − 5.
Given: father’s age = 4 × son’s age → (45 − x) = 4(x − 5).
45 − x = 4x − 20 → 65 = 5x → x = 13.

Step 2: Son’s age = 13, father’s = 37.

Correction check: Let’s recalculate →

Given: father’s age now = 50 − x, five years ago = 45 − x.
Son’s age five years ago = x − 5.
45 − x = 4(x − 5) → 45 − x = 4x − 20 → 65 = 5x → x = 13.
Father’s age = 50 − 13 = 37.
So Son = 13 years, Father = 37 years.

Final Answer: Son = 13 years, Father = 37 years.

Why we did it this way:

We used the relationship between ages five years ago to set up an equation and solved.

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Q30.

Question: A man sells an article at ₹480 after giving a discount of 20%. Find the marked price.

Answer: ₹600

Explanation:

Step 1: Selling price = Marked price − discount.

20%
discount means selling price = 80% of marked price.
480 = 80% of marked price → marked price = 480 ÷ 0.8 = ₹600.

Why we did it this way:

We reversed the discount process to find the original marked price.

Q31.

Question: A train travels 150 km in 2 hours and returns the same distance in 3 hours. Find its
average speed for the whole journey.

Answer: 180/5 = 36 km/h

Explanation:

Step 1: Average speed for the whole journey = total distance ÷ total time.
Total distance = 150 + 150 = 300 km.
Total time = 2 + 3 = 5 hours.
Step 2: Average speed = 300 ÷ 5 = 60 km/h.

✅ Correction: Yes, calculation → 300 ÷ 5 = 60 km/h. So average speed = 60 km/h.

Why we did it this way:
Average speed is found by dividing total distance by total time, not by simply averaging speeds.

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Q32.

Question: A man invests ₹8000 at 5% per annum simple interest. How much interest will he earn
in 4 years?

Answer: ₹1600

Explanation:

Step 1: Simple interest = (Principal × Rate × Time) ÷ 100.

= (8000 × 5 × 4) ÷ 100 = ₹1600.

Why we did it this way:

We directly applied the simple interest formula because rate and time were given.

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Q33.

Question: A number is increased by 25% and then decreased by 20%. Find the net change in the
number.

Answer: 0% (no net change)

Explanation:

Step 1: Let the number = 100 (for simplicity).

Increase by 25%: 100 + 25 = 125.
Decrease by 20%: 125 − 25 = 100.

Step 2: Net change = 0%.

Why we did it this way:

We used an example number to see the effect of successive percentage changes.

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Q34.

Question: The sum of the squares of two consecutive integers is 365. Find the integers.

Answer: 12 and 13

Explanation:

Step 1: Let integers = n and n + 1.

n² + (n + 1)² = 365 → n² + n² + 2n + 1 = 365 → 2n² + 2n + 1 = 365 → 2n² + 2n − 364 = 0 → n² + n − 182
= 0.

Step 2: Solve: n = 13 or −14 (negative not possible here).

So n = 13, integers = 12 and 13.

Why we did it this way:

We translated the problem into an equation and solved step-by-step to find integers.

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Q35.

Question: A man buys a watch for ₹1200 and sells it at ₹1500. Find his gain percentage.

Answer: 25%

Explanation:
Step 1: Gain = selling price − cost price = ₹1500 − ₹1200 = ₹300.

Step 2: Gain percentage = (300 ÷ 1200) × 100 = 25%.

Why we did it this way:

We compared gain with cost price to calculate percentage gain.

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Q36.

Question: A water tank can be filled by one pipe in 8 hours and emptied by another in 12 hours.
If both pipes are opened together, how long will it take to fill the tank?

Answer: 24 hours

Explanation:

Step 1: Filling rate = 1/8 of tank per hour, emptying rate = 1/12 of tank per hour.
Net rate = 1/8 − 1/12 = (3 − 2)/24 = 1/24 of tank per hour.

Step 2: Time to fill = 1 ÷ (1/24) = 24 hours.

Why we did it this way:

We considered both filling and emptying rates to find net rate and then time.

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Q37.

Question: A sum of money amounts to ₹2000 in 2 years and ₹2300 in 3 years at simple interest.
Find the rate of interest.

Answer: 15% per annum

Explanation:
Step 1: Interest for 1 year = (2300 − 2000) = ₹300.

Step 2: Interest for 2 years = ₹300 × 2 = ₹600.

Rate = (600 × 100) ÷ (2000 × 2) = 15%.

Why we did it this way:

We found yearly interest first, then used simple interest formula to find rate.

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Q38.

Question: A bag contains 3 red balls, 4 green balls, and 5 blue balls. One ball is taken at random.
Find the probability it is red or blue.

Answer: 2/3

Explanation:

Step 1: Total balls = 3 + 4 + 5 = 12.

Step 2: Red or blue balls = 3 + 5 = 8.

Probability = 8 ÷ 12 = 2/3.

Why we did it this way:

Probability means “favourable outcomes ÷ total outcomes”.

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Q39.

Question: The simple interest on a sum of money for 3 years at 8% per annum is ₹480. Find the
sum.

Answer: ₹2000
Explanation:

Step 1: Simple interest = (Principal × Rate × Time) ÷ 100.

480 = (Principal × 8 × 3) ÷ 100 → Principal = ₹2000.

Why we did it this way:

We rearranged the formula for simple interest to find principal.

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Q40.

Question: A boat goes 16 km downstream in 2 hours and returns upstream in 4 hours. Find the
speed of the boat in still water and the speed of the stream.

Answer: Boat speed = 6 km/h, Stream speed = 2 km/h

Explanation:

Step 1: Downstream speed = 16 ÷ 2 = 8 km/h.

Upstream speed = 16 ÷ 4 = 4 km/h.

Step 2: Boat speed = (downstream + upstream) ÷ 2 = (8 + 4) ÷ 2 = 6 km/h.

Stream speed = (downstream − upstream) ÷ 2 = (8 − 4) ÷ 2 = 2 km/h.

Why we did it this way:

We used the average of speeds for still water and half the difference for stream speed.