Prime & Composite Word Problems for 5th Graders

1. Sarah has 12 apples. She wants to share them with her friends. If she gives each friend a prime number of apples, what are the possible numbers of friends she can share with?

• 2, 3, 6

• 1

• 4

• 5

2. A farmer has 15 chickens and 10 ducks. If he wants to group them into pens with a prime number of animals in each pen, what are the possible sizes of the pens?

• 3

• 7

• 11

• 5

3. In a class, there are 24 students. If the teacher wants to form groups with a composite number of students in each group, what are the possible group sizes?

• 5

• 2

• [4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24]

• 3

4. A bakery sells 18 cupcakes. If they want to package them in boxes containing a prime number of cupcakes, what are the possible box sizes?

• [2, 3, 5]

• 8

• 6

• 4

5. Tom has 20 marbles. He wants to divide them into bags with a composite number of marbles in each bag. What are the possible sizes of the bags?

• 2

• 3

• 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20

• 5

6. A library has 30 books. If the librarian wants to arrange them on shelves with a prime number of books per shelf, what are the possible arrangements?

• 8

• 6

• 4

• 2, 3, 5, 7

7. Lisa is planting flowers in her garden. She has 28 flowers and wants to plant them in rows with a composite number of flowers in each row. What are the possible row sizes?

• [4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 28]

• 5

• 3

• 2

8. A toy store has 25 toy cars. If they want to display them in groups with a prime number of cars in each group, what are the possible group sizes?

• [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23]

• 6

• 10

• 4

9. A soccer team has 22 players. If they want to form teams with a composite number of players, what are the possible team sizes?

• 7

• [4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22]

• 3

• 5

10. A concert hall has 36 seats. If they want to arrange the seats in rows with a prime number of seats in each row, what are the possible arrangements?

• 6

• 5

• 2, 3

• 4