Grade 3 Practice Problems: Geometry
Examples from Standards Revision and GLEs
3G-16) Answer: 6 line segments--WX, WY, WZ , XY, XZ, YZ
How many line segments can you find in the line below? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-15) Answer 16 triangles
How many triangles can you find? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-14) Answer: pyramid or a tetrahedron
I am a 3-dimensional figure. My base is a triangle. My top is a point. I have 4 faces. What am I? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-13) Answer: trapezoid
I am a 4-sided polygon. Two of my sides are equal lengths. Two of my sides are parallel. What am I? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-12) Answer: 12 edges; 6 faces
Walter has a set of building blocks. Each block is a rectangular prism. If Walter builds a tower with 3 blocks stacked up, how many edges will the building have? How many faces? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-11) Answer: 6 meters
Scott has 24 meters of fence and wants to make the biggest rectangular yard possible for his dog to run in. What length should he make each side of the yard? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-10) Answer: 62 faces
Little Pig got 24 bricks and built a wall along one side of his garden. The wall was 4 bricks high and 6 bricks across. Little Pig painted the wall. He painted the exposed faces of the bricks. How many faces of bricks did Little Pig have to paint? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-9) Answer: (drawing)
Ronald Rabbit began to draw a map for his cousin. He said, "Here we are at the potato field on Lettuce Lane. Go forward 6 blocks to Radish Road and turn right. Then go forward 4 blocks and turn left on Squash Street. Go forward 3 blocks to Apple Avenue and turn right. Then go forward 4 blocks to Bean Boulevard. My home is under the oak tree on that corner. Ring the bell and I'll let you in." Can you show the path from the potato field to Ronald Rabbit's home? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-8) Answer: 1 foot
Hal and his friends went digging for dinosaur teeth. They dug all along their path. They started at their tent and walked north 5 feet toward the mountain. They turned east toward the river and walked ahead 5 feet. They turned south toward the fence and walked 3 feet. Then they turned west toward the trees and walked 4 feet. Finally they turned south toward the fence and walked 2 feet. There they dug up a dinosaur tooth! How far was the dinosaur tooth from their tent? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-7) Answer: 20
Will gets on the elevator in a very tall building. Will is carrying five pizzas. He goes up to the 8th floor, gets off the elevator; and delivers a pizza. He gets back on the elevator; goes down 4 floors, and delivers another pizza. He gets back on the elevator; goes up 11 floors, and delivers another pizza. He gets back on the elevator and goes up 5 floors to the top floor of the building. He delivers his last 2 pizzas on that floor. How many floors are there in the very tall building? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-6) Answer: front row: red-blue-orange; back row: green-black-yellow
There's a parking lot in the Taylor's family room. Six model cars are parked in the lot like a 2x3 grid. The red car is parked in front of the green car. A black car is parked between the green car and a yellow car. A blue car is parked on the right side of the red car; and an orange car is parked in front of the yellow car. What color is each car in the parking lot? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-5) Answer: 45
Gary made a long tunnel of cardboard boxes in his backyard. He got 15 boxes. He cut 2 sides off each box. Then he put the boxes together in a long row. One night it rained. All the sides of the boxes that were not touching the ground got wet. How many sides got wet? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-4) Answer: (several answers possible)
Sam put newspapers in 6 of the 9 mailboxes (arranged in a 3 by 3 grid) at the Pine Apartments. He put one paper in each of 6 boxes. When he finished, there were 2 newspapers in each row and in each column of boxes. Draw a picture of a way that Sam could have placed the newspapers. Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-3) Answer: (several answers possible)
Georgina had 3 pennies, 3 nickels, and 3 dimes. She put them in 3 rows and 3 columns. When she finished, there was one penny, one nickel, and one dime in each row and in each column. Where did Georgina put each of her coins? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-2) Answer: 6 rectangles; 3 squares
Make pictures of 15 shapes. 1/5 of the shapes are circles. 2/5 of the shapes are rectangles. 1/5 are triangles. The rest are squares. How many shapes are rectangles? How many shapes are squares? Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
3G-1) Answer: Multiple answers are possible
Draw a shape that has five angles. Divide it into triangles. Write to help explain your best thinking using words, numbers, or pictures.
Expectations & Examples of Geometry from the 2008 Math Standards Revision (draft) - Grade 3
Sketch and identify right angles. Sketch and identify parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular lines. Use side length and concepts of parallel and perpendicular segments to identify and describe quadrilaterals, including squares, rectangles, rhombi, parallelograms, trapezoids, and kites. Classify triangles as equilateral, isosceles, or scalene based on the number of congruent sides. Determine the number and location of one or more lines of symmetry in a given figure. Use geometric motions, such as reflections (flips), rotations (turns), and translations (slides), to compare figures and determine congruence. Estimate, measure, and calculate perimeters of two-dimensional figures, including figures in contextual situations. Perimeters can be of two-dimensional geometric figures or of some part of a three-dimensional real-world object, such as a tabletop. Solve problems that involve attributes of two-dimensional figures and justify solutions using words, numbers, pictures, physical materials, or equations. |
Examples of Geometric Sense from the 2006 GLEs – Grade 3
Draw congruent figures. Indicate whether two figures are congruent and explain why or why not. Explain congruence and use examples to demonstrate it. Use attributes and properties to sort, classify, and label 2 dimensional figures. Draw and label a 2 dimensional figure with given attributes. Describe a 2 dimensional figure using geometric attributes. Describe the relative locations of points on a horizontal or vertical number line with positive coordinates. Describe the location of objects on a number line using numbers or letters. Draw or locate points or objects on a number line based on the coordinates given. Locate the point of final destination for movement on a positive number line. |