April 2026 Contest — Grade 4
The April 2026 North Star contest paper for Grade 4 has 12 questions and a 45-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 4
- Questions
- 12
- Time limit
- 45 minutes
- Contest
- April 2026
- Subject
- Mathematics
- School year
- 2025-26
Before you start
- The timer starts when you press Start and runs for 45 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 — Algebra & Expressions
In the game StarQuest, players use 🌟 Stars as currency.
1) A sword costs 15 Stars.
2) A shield costs 8 Stars less than the sword.
3) A helmet costs 5 Stars more than the shield.
Mia has 30 Stars. She buys one shield and one helmet.
How many Stars does Mia have left over?
- A.3
- B.5
- C.7
- D.9
- E.11
Show the worked solution
To find out how many Stars Mia has left over, we can calculate the cost of each item step by step:
1. Find the cost of the shield:
A sword costs 15 Stars. A shield costs 8 Stars less than the sword.
Cost of shield = 15 - 8 = 7 Stars.
2. Find the cost of the helmet:
A helmet costs 5 Stars more than the shield.
Cost of helmet = 7 + 5 = 12 Stars.
3. Find the total cost of Mia's purchases:
Mia buys one shield and one helmet.
Total cost = 7 + 12 = 19 Stars.
4. Find how many Stars Mia has left:
Mia starts with 30 Stars and spends 19 Stars.
Stars left over = 30 - 19 = 11 Stars.
Mia has 11 Stars left over.
The answer is E.
Question 12 — Geometry & Measurement
Jenny is trying to fold a perfect paper box, but she made a big mistake! A cube only has 6 faces, but Jenny accidentally drew a shape with 8 squares. She needs to cut off two squares that are side-by-side (sharing an edge) so that the paper stays in one piece and folds perfectly into a cube. Looking at her drawing, which two numbered squares should she remove?
- A.1,2
- B.3,6
- C.4,5
- D.7,8
- E.2,6
Show the worked solution
To find the correct two squares to remove, let's analyze the image and test the options step-by-step.
Step 1 — Read the image
From the image, we can see 8 numbered squares arranged as follows:
Row 1: Square 1 (above Square 2)
Row 2: Squares 2, 3, and 6 (from left to right)
Row 3: Square 4 (below Square 3)
Row 4: Squares 5, 7, and 8 (from left to right, below Square 4)
Step 2 — Solve
We need to remove two squares that share an edge (are side-by-side) so that the remaining 6 squares stay connected in one piece and fold perfectly into a cube.
Let's test the options:
Option A (1, 2): If we remove 1 and 2, the remaining squares (3, 6, 4, 5, 7, 8) stay in one piece. However, if we try to fold them, both Square 6 and Square 7 will overlap on the right side, leaving the left side of the cube completely open. This does not make a perfect cube.
Option B (3, 6): If we remove 3 and 6, the paper is cut into two separate pieces (Squares 1 and 2 are disconnected from Squares 4, 5, 7, and 8).
Option C (4, 5): If we remove 4 and 5, the paper is cut into two separate pieces.
Option E (2, 6): Squares 2 and 6 do not share an edge, and removing them would also disconnect Square 1.
Option D (7, 8): Squares 7 and 8 share an edge. If we remove them, the remaining squares are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. They stay connected in one piece. Let's see how they fold:
Let Square 3 be the bottom of the cube.
Square 2 folds up to become the left side.
Square 1 (attached to 2) folds over to become the back side.
Square 6 folds up to become the right side.
Square 4 folds up to become the front side.
Square 5 (attached to 4) folds over to become the top side.
This forms a perfect cube with no overlapping faces and no gaps.
Step 3 — Select
Therefore, Jenny should remove squares 7 and 8.
The answer is D
Take the whole paper
All 12 questions, 45 minutes, marked as you go. No account needed.