5 Math Kangaroo Practice Problems (Grades 1-2)

Math Kangaroo is held once a year in March (see the Math Kangaroo 2027 date and registration timeline for this season’s date, fees, and how to sign up). First and second graders take the Grades 1-2 level, and kindergartners are welcome to join them at grade 1. If you’re looking for Math Kangaroo practice problems for grade 1 or grade 2, here is what your child will face on test day: 24 multiple-choice questions in 75 minutes, each with 5 answer choices (A through E). A third of the questions are worth 3 points, a third 4 points, and a third 5 points, so the best possible score is 96. Wrong answers cost nothing.

That’s the same length and time limit as the Grades 3-4 test. What feels different at this level is the reading and the pictures. Math Kangaroo says any student can take part “who can read and work independently at his/her school grade level,” and the official Grades 1-2 sample questions lean heavily on pictures, often with pictures as the answer choices.

We can’t show pictures here, so the five original problems below are written in short sentences with a simple grid where needed. There are two easy ones (3-point level), two medium (4-point), and one hard (5-point). For the full rundown of levels and scoring, see our complete Math Kangaroo format guide.

How to Use These Sample Questions with a 6- or 7-Year-Old

A few things make practice go better at this age:

• Read each problem aloud together the first time, then let your child reread it. On contest day they’ll be reading on their own, so a second, independent read is good practice.
• Put out a pencil, paper, and a handful of coins or small toys. Most of these problems get easier the moment a child can draw them or move objects around.
• Skip the timer. Two or three problems in a 15-minute sitting is plenty for a first grader.
• Ask “how do you know?” before you check the answer. The explanation tells you more than the circled letter.

The Problems: 1st and 2nd Grade Practice Questions

Have your child try all five before looking at the solutions below.

Remember, there’s no penalty for a wrong answer on Math Kangaroo, so a best guess always beats a blank.

Problem 1: The Kangaroo on the Stones (3 points)

A kangaroo hops along a path of stones numbered 1 to 12. It starts on stone 1. Every hop takes it exactly 3 stones forward, so its first hop lands on stone 4.

Which of these stones will the kangaroo land on?

(A) 5   (B) 6   (C) 8   (D) 10   (E) 12

Problem 2: Ella’s Coins (3 points)

Ella has exactly 3 coins in her pocket. Together they are worth 11 cents. She only has pennies (1¢), nickels (5¢), and dimes (10¢).

Which coins does Ella have?

(A) 1 dime and 1 penny (B) 2 nickels and 1 penny (C) 1 dime and 2 pennies (D) 1 nickel and 6 pennies (E) 3 nickels

Problem 3: Hidden Squares (4 points)

Sam drew this shape. It has 2 rows with 3 small squares in each row.

+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |
+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |
+---+---+---+

How many squares of any size can you find, using the lines Sam drew?

(A) 6   (B) 7   (C) 8   (D) 9   (E) 10

Problem 4: The Animal Race (4 points)

A cat, a dog, a rabbit, and a turtle ran a race. There were no ties.

• The dog finished right after the cat.
• The turtle finished before the cat.
• The rabbit did not win.

Who won the race?

(A) The turtle   (B) The cat   (C) The rabbit   (D) The dog   (E) We can’t tell

Problem 5: Ducks and Cats (5 points)

On a farm, Nora counts 6 heads and 16 legs. Every animal is either a duck (2 legs) or a cat (4 legs).

How many cats are there?

(A) 1   (B) 2   (C) 3   (D) 4   (E) 5

Solutions, Step by Step

Problem 1: The Kangaroo on the Stones — Answer: (D) 10

Say the stones out loud as the kangaroo lands on them, adding 3 each time:

One more hop would be stone 13, past the end of the path. So the kangaroo lands only on 4, 7, and 10. Of the answer choices, only 10 is on that list.

Why (B) 6 and (E) 12 are traps: Children who know “counting by 3s” often say 3, 6, 9, 12. But the kangaroo starts on stone 1, so every stone it lands on is one more than a counting-by-3s number.

Try it at home: Write 1 to 12 on sticky notes, lay them on the floor, and have your child hop the path with a toy.

Problem 2: Ella’s Coins — Answer: (B) 2 nickels and 1 penny

There are two rules to check: the coins must add up to 11 cents, and there must be exactly 3 of them. Check every choice against both rules:

Only (B) passes both tests: 5 + 5 + 1 = 11, using 3 coins.

Why (A) is a trap: A dime and a penny do make 11 cents, and many kids stop right there. But that’s only 2 coins, and the problem said 3. Answering half the question is a very common slip at this age.

Strategy tip: When a problem gives two conditions, have your child put a finger on each one and check it separately.

Problem 3: Hidden Squares — Answer: (C) 8

Most children count the 6 small squares and pick (A). The problem says squares of any size, so look for bigger ones too.

A square made of 4 small squares (2 across and 2 down) fits in the drawing in two places:

• the left two columns
• the right two columns

These two big squares overlap in the middle column, and that’s allowed. There’s no room for anything bigger, because the drawing is only 2 rows tall.

Total: 6 small + 2 big = 8.

Why (D) 9 is tempting: Some kids count the whole drawing as a square too. It isn’t: it’s 3 squares wide but only 2 tall, so it’s a rectangle.

Try it at home: Draw the grid, then cut a 2-by-2 window out of paper and slide it around to see where it fits.

Problem 4: The Animal Race — Answer: (A) The turtle

Instead of working out the whole race, ask about each animal: could this one have won?

• The cat? No. The turtle finished before the cat.
• The dog? No. The dog finished right after the cat.
• The rabbit? No. The problem says the rabbit did not win.

That leaves only the turtle.

Why (E) is a trap: There are two orders that fit all the clues: turtle, cat, dog, rabbit, or turtle, rabbit, cat, dog. So we can’t tell the whole order of the race. But the question only asks who won, and in both orders the turtle is first. Children sometimes pick “we can’t tell” because they can’t work out everything, even though they can answer the question asked.

Strategy tip: Crossing out wrong answers one at a time is a powerful Math Kangaroo habit. When four choices are crossed out, whatever is left must be right.

Problem 5: Ducks and Cats — Answer: (B) 2

You can explain this one without any algebra.

Step 1: Draw 6 circles for the 6 heads. Every animal has one head, so there are 6 animals.

Step 2: Give every animal 2 legs first. Draw two little lines under each circle. That’s 6 × 2 = 12 legs (or count them: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12).

Step 3: Find the missing legs. Nora counted 16 legs, and we’ve drawn only 12. We still need 16 − 12 = 4 more legs.

Step 4: Turn some ducks into cats. Each cat needs 2 extra legs. The 4 missing legs make 2 cats.

So there are 2 cats and 4 ducks. Check: 2 cats × 4 legs = 8, and 4 ducks × 2 legs = 8. Together that’s 16 legs and 6 heads.

Why (D) 4 is a trap: 4 is the number of ducks. A child who solves the problem correctly and then answers the wrong animal lands exactly on this choice. Before circling, reread the question: it asks for cats.

Why this is a 5-point problem: Your child has to keep track of two things at once (heads and legs) and can’t just add or subtract the numbers in the story. Guess-and-check works too: “If there were 1 cat, there’d be 4 + 10 = 14 legs. Too few. 2 cats: 8 + 8 = 16. Yes!”

What These Sample Problems Practice

Each problem builds a skill that shows up again and again at the Grades 1-2 level:

• Counting patterns (Problem 1): skip counting that doesn’t start at zero
• Money and checking two rules (Problem 2): reading every condition in the question
• Seeing shapes inside shapes (Problem 3): the spatial reasoning Math Kangaroo loves
• Logic and elimination (Problem 4): ruling out answers instead of solving everything
• Drawing to think (Problem 5): turning words into a picture on scratch paper

The arithmetic stays within what first and second graders learn in school. The challenge is the reading and the reasoning, which is what makes Math Kangaroo different from a school worksheet.

Tips for 1st and 2nd Graders Before Test Day

• Practice reading problems independently. Math Kangaroo expects students to read and work on their own at their grade level. Start by reading problems together, then gradually let your child take over the first read.
• Always guess. There’s no penalty for wrong answers, so a child should never leave a question blank, even one they don’t understand.
• Practice with pencil and scratch paper, not a calculator. Calculators and smartphones aren’t allowed during the test, and at in-person centers the proctor hands out scratch paper and a pencil. Drawing (like the heads-and-legs picture in Problem 5) is a skill worth building now.
• If your child tests online, Math Kangaroo says it’s fine for a parent to help younger children set up and open the test, but the parent shouldn’t stay in the room once the test starts. A practice run at the same desk helps.
• Use the official practice materials too. Math Kangaroo’s Grades 1-2 practice page offers past exams and practice sets sorted by 3-, 4-, and 5-point difficulty, which show your child what the real picture-based questions look like.
• Keep sessions short. Two or three problems, three or four times a week, beats one long Saturday session.

For a month-by-month plan, our sister post on how to prepare for Math Kangaroo walks through the whole season. If you’re still deciding which contests make sense at this age, see our best math competitions for 2nd graders.

More Math Kangaroo Practice for Grades 1-2

If your child enjoyed these, our Math Kangaroo Prep Guide for Grades 1-2 has topic-by-topic explanations, 85+ original practice problems, a full practice test, and kid-friendly solutions matched to the Math Kangaroo format. There’s a free sample if you’d like to try it first.

You can also browse our Math Kangaroo practice tests and questions page for free practice at every grade level.

This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Math Kangaroo USA or Kangourou sans Frontières. “Math Kangaroo” is a trademark of its respective owners.