Math Libs 5th Grade Skills

Solve problems with parenthesis (5.OA.1)

Big Bus Pull Excerpt:

One of the weirdest events in World’s Strongest Man is the bus pull. Literally a guy has to grab a strap and pull an entire bus down the street. James and Lia totally want to try this. But Casey and Avidan would rather ride the bus than pull it…

  1. Casey climbs on board the bus carrying 12 bowling balls, but Avidan throws 3 of them out the window. If each bowling ball weighs 9 pounds, write and solve with parentheses how much extra weight is now on the bus.

Milkshake Car Excerpt:

What we need around here is a car that makes milkshakes while you drive. Caroline and Sean think this is totally doable…

  1. Caroline starts with a strawberry-hot-dog shake. 1 shake needs 4.3 scoops of hot dog. How many scoops are needed to make 10 shakes?

Pep Rally Excerpt:

You all have a new basketball team, and Vin wants to be the mascot! What animal should it be? Vin wants to dress up as a radioactive red elephant

  1. Luca can do a whole 10 cartwheels in 27.2 seconds. Vin can do them in just 0.95 of that time, even while dressed as an elephant. How fast can Vin do 10 cartwheels?

Diamond Mine Excerpt:

Your class is camping in the Crater of Diamonds State Park. Under the dirt there are diamonds and gems. Anything you dig up, you get to keep. Cassie’s pet lizard wears a fake diamond-studded collar…

  1. Cassie finds a 0.455-carat diamond, while David’s pet ladybug digs up a 0.099-carat diamond. Whose diamond is heavier?

Race to the School Roof Excerpt:

When no one’s looking, Ben and Yashi want to climb up onto the school roof. The two of them load up their little steam roller with ladders, rope and binoculars…

  1. The roof is 28.52 feet above the ground. What’s the minimum number of whole feet the ladder needs to be to pass that?

Time to Hit the Gym Excerpt:

Fiona wants to break an Olympic record. Jackson is Fiona’s trainer, and tells Fiona to use the treadmill, a moving strip of rubber you run on…

  1. Fiona jogs for 7 1/2 minutes steps to warm up. Jackson jogs just 2 1/2 minutes – the trainer shouldn’t have to work as hard, right? How much longer did Fiona jog?

Switcheroo Excerpt:

To mix things up, your classmates all switch clothes with each other for a day. Rahil wears Hannah’s purple boots, while Hannah wears Rahil’s tangerine top hat

  1. 1/3 of the students switched pants, and of those, 1/2 were jeans. What fraction of the total students wore jeans today?

Top Chef: Pizza Night Excerpt:

It’s the annual Top Chef pizza contest! Maggie hopes to win with a cupcake-topped pizza. Pete is making one with Oreos and oysters

  1. Everyone wants to try the cupcake pizza. Each slice is 1/8, and 3 kids have to share each one. What fraction of the pizza does each taster get?

Zip Line Excerpt:

The school playground just isn’t that exciting anymore. So Jeffrey and Nala are building a giant zip line. It starts on the school roof, and kids ride in little tractor-shaped cars hanging from it…

  1. Giselle’s pet skunk is the first rider. If the tractor-shaped car weighs 24.2 pounds and the skunk weighs a surprising 85.9 pounds, how much do they weigh together?

Marshmallow Mash Excerpt:

The students want to have a s’mores party. They need chocolate and graham crackers, and lots of marshmallows, since Oliver and Joaquin eat just those…

  1. Oliver pulls up in a neon orange airplane stuffed with boxes of Hershey bars. The inside of the airplane is 5 feet wide, 3 feet tall and 4 feet front to back. How many cubic feet of chocolate Oliver bring?

Rocket Club Excerpt:

As the Rocket Club kids say, “Anyone can strap a nosecone and fins onto an engine to make a rocket!” Jackie and Jess excitedly start building theirs. They find a giant skateboard engine and strap it to a dogsled

  1. Bit by bit, Jackie and Jess fill the skateboard engine with 240 cups of fuel. How many gallons is that?