PARCC Basic Operations Practice Questions 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: 1. Edward ascends to the top of a mountain over the course of two days. On Friday, he ascends 482 feet. He ascends another 362 feet on Saturday. How many feet did he ascend in all?
- 848 feet
- 836 feet
- 840 feet
- 844 feet (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 844 feet
To find the total feet Edward ascended, simply add the distance he ascended on Friday to the distance he ascended on Saturday. So, 482 feet + 362 feet = 844 feet.
Question 2: 2. Kristen must buy three items that are priced at $4.58, $6.22, and $8.94. What is the best estimate for the total cost of all three items?
- $18
- $16
- $20 (Correct answer)
- $22
Correct answer: $20
To find the best estimate, round each price to the nearest whole dollar: $4.58 rounds to $5, $6.22 rounds to $6, and $8.94 rounds to $9. Adding these rounded values gives $5 + $6 + $9 = $20. This provides the closest and most reasonable estimate for the total cost.
Question 3: 3. A teacher donates to a local charity. Each year, she donates three times the amount donated the previous year. If the teacher donated $2 the first year, how much did she donate during the fifth year?
- $158
- $164
- $162 (Correct answer)
- $144
Correct answer: $162
This is a geometric sequence where each year's donation is three times the previous year's. Starting with $2 in the first year: Year 1 = $2, Year 2 = $2 * 3 = $6, Year 3 = $6 * 3 = $18, Year 4 = $18 * 3 = $54. For the fifth year, she donated $54 * 3 = $162.
Question 4: 4. Penny drinks 8 glasses of water each day. The number of glasses of water she drinks over a 12-day time span can be determined, using the number sentence: Which number sentence would not show the number of glasses of water she drinks?
- ? \/ 8 = 12
- 12 x 8 = ?
- ? \/ 12 = 8
- 12 - 8 = ? (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 12 - 8 = ?
To find the total number of glasses Penny drinks over 12 days, you would multiply the number of glasses per day by the number of days (8 * 12). Options A, B, and C are all equivalent ways to represent this multiplication or its inverse. However, 12 - 8 = ? represents subtraction, which does not calculate the total number of glasses drunk over a period of time.
Question 5: 5. Belinda draws a rectangle with a length of 6 cm. She draws a second rectangle with a length of 11 cm. Belinda continues drawing more rectangles, where for each rectangle drawn, she uses a length that is 5 more centimeters than the length of the previous rectangle. If this pattern continues, what will be the length of the 11th rectangle?
- 46 cm
- 54 cm
- 56 cm (Correct answer)
- 61 cm
Correct answer: 56 cm
This is an arithmetic sequence where the first term (a1) is 6 cm and the common difference (d) is 5 cm (11 - 6 = 5). To find the length of the 11th rectangle (n=11), use the formula an = a1 + (n-1)d. Plugging in the values: a11 = 6 + (11-1)*5 = 6 + 10*5 = 6 + 50 = 56 cm.
Question 6: 6. Jasper collects 1,082 cans of food. He gives a certain number of cans to the first local charity he finds. He now has 602 cans of food. How many cans of food did he give to the first local charity?
- 430
- 480 (Correct answer)
- 682
- 1,684
Correct answer: 480
To find out how many cans Jasper gave to the first charity, subtract the number of cans he has left from the initial number of cans he collected. So, 1,082 cans - 602 cans = 480 cans.
Question 7: 7. Amanda creates the base of a picture frame, using 4.55 inches of red fabric and 6.25 inches of blue fabric. How many inches of fabric are used to create the base of the frame?
- 10.80 inches (Correct answer)
- 10.85 inches
- 10.75 inches
- 10.90 inches
Correct answer: 10.80 inches
To find the total inches of fabric used, simply add the length of the red fabric to the length of the blue fabric. So, 4.55 inches + 6.25 inches = 10.80 inches.
Question 8: 8. Hannah ran 12 laps every day for 8 days. How many laps did she run in all?
- 108
- 96 (Correct answer)
- 84
- 72
Correct answer: 96
To find the total number of laps Hannah ran, multiply the number of laps she ran each day by the total number of days. So, 12 laps/day * 8 days = 96 laps.
Question 9: 9. Three friends sold cupcakes for a fundraiser. Eli sold 84 cupcakes, John sold 46 cupcakes, and Kim sold 72 cupcakes. Which of the following is the best estimate for the number of cupcakes the three friends sold in all?
- 180
- 200 (Correct answer)
- 210
- 190
Correct answer: 200
To estimate the total, round each number to the nearest ten: 84 rounds to 80, 46 rounds to 50, and 72 rounds to 70. Adding these rounded values gives 80 + 50 + 70 = 200. This is the best estimate for the total number of cupcakes sold.
Question 10: 10. Carlisle charges $21.95 per hair cut and has completed 30 haircuts this week. Which of the following is the best approximation for the total charges for all haircuts?
- $450
- $600 (Correct answer)
- $750
- $800
Correct answer: $600
To approximate the total charges, round the price per haircut to a convenient number for mental calculation. $21.95 is very close to $20. Multiplying $20 by 30 haircuts gives $600. While $22 * 30 = $660 is more precise, $600 is the closest and best approximation among the given options for a quick estimate.
PARCC Basic Operations Practice Questions 1
1.
Edward ascends to the top of a mountain over the course of two days.
On Friday, he ascends 482 feet.
He ascends another 362 feet on Saturday.
How many feet did he ascend in all?