January 2026 Contest — Grade 2
The January 2026 North Star contest paper for Grade 2 has 12 questions and a 30-minute limit. Two sample questions with worked solutions are below, and you can take the whole paper online for free — no account, no sign-up.
- Grade
- Grade 2
- Questions
- 12
- Time limit
- 30 minutes
- Contest
- January 2026
- Subject
- Mathematics
- School year
- 2025-26
Before you start
- The timer starts when you press Start and runs for 30 minutes.
- Answer the 12 questions in any order; each is multiple choice.
- Your answers are marked as you go. Nothing is saved to an account, so finish in one sitting.
Sample questions
The first and last questions from this paper, with their worked solutions.
Question 1 — Number Sense & Operations
How many triangles are there in the picture?
- A.2
- B.3
- C.4
- D.5
- E.6
Show the worked solution
To find the total number of triangles in the picture, we can count them carefully one by one:
1. First, we see the largest triangle that forms the main body of the shape.
2. Next, we count the two medium-sized triangles at the top (like ears).
3. Finally, we count the two small triangles at the bottom (like feet).
Let's add them up:
1 large triangle
2 medium triangles
2 small triangles
1 + 2 + 2 = 5 triangles in total.
Therefore, there are 5 triangles in the picture.
The answer is D
Question 12 — Number Sense & Operations
Alice reads 5 pages on each Saturday and Sunday. How many pages does she read in 2 weeks?
- A.10
- B.20
- C.25
- D.30
- E.35
Show the worked solution
To find out how many pages Alice reads in 2 weeks, let's first find out how many pages she reads in 1 week.
In 1 week, Alice reads on Saturday and Sunday:
On Saturday, she reads 5 pages.
On Sunday, she reads 5 pages.
Let's add these together for 1 week:
5 + 5 = 10 pages.
Now, we want to find how many pages she reads in 2 weeks. We can add the pages she reads in the first week to the pages she reads in the second week:
10 + 10 = 20 pages.
So, Alice reads 20 pages in 2 weeks.
The answer is B.
Take the whole paper
All 12 questions, 30 minutes, marked as you go. No account needed.