Percentage word problems worksheet for students to solve, featuring real-life scenarios and a fun challenge to identify the impossible problem.

Let’s go through each problem one by one, solve them carefully, and then check which one is impossible or a trick.

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Problem 1:
A shop sells 100 ice creams total.
40% are vanilla → 40% of 100 = 40 vanilla
30% are strawberry → 30% of 100 = 30 strawberry
So chocolate = 100 - 40 - 30 = 30

✔ Possible.

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Problem 2:
Total animals = 120
20% are lions → 20% of 120 = 0.2 × 120 = 24 lions
Half are zebras → 50% of 120 = 60 zebras
Tigers = 120 - 24 - 60 = 36 → that’s fine.

✔ Possible.

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Problem 3:
LA Galaxy played 40 matches. Won 60% → 60% of 40 = 0.6 × 40 = 24 wins

✔ Possible.

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Problem 4:
Car A: 400 miles on full tank
Car B: 30% further → 30% of 400 = 0.3 × 400 = 120 miles further
So Car B can travel 400 + 120 = 520 miles → but the question asks “how many miles *further*?” → answer is 120

✔ Possible.

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Problem 5:
30 children surveyed.
10% chose apples → 10% of 30 = 3
30% chose bananas → 30% of 30 = 9
So watermelon = 30 - 3 - 9 = 18

✔ Possible.

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Problem 6:
Total vehicles = 80
¾ were cars → ¾ × 80 = 60 cars
20% were buses → 20% of 80 = 0.2 × 80 = 16 buses
Bikes = 80 - 60 - 16 = 4 → that’s fine.

✔ Possible.

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Problem 7:
24% chance of rain each day. Over 50 days, expected rainy days = 24% of 50 = 0.24 × 50 = 12 days

✔ Possible.

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Problem 8:
Sally walks 15% of the time. She either walks, cycles, or drives.
In 100 days, she walks 15 days.
But we don’t know how much she cycles vs drives — only that she does one of three.
The question asks: “how many times would she cycle?”
We cannot determine this from the info given — because 15% walking doesn’t tell us how much cycling she does. It could be 0%, 50%, 85% — we don’t know.

Wait — actually, let’s read again:
“She walks about 15% of the time.”
Then: “In 100 days, how many times would she cycle?”

This is missing information. We don’t know the percentage for cycling. So unless we assume the rest is cycling (which we shouldn’t), this is unsolvable.

BUT — wait! Is there an impossible problem? Let’s double-check all.

Actually, look at Problem 8 again — it says “she walks about 15% of the time” — but doesn’t say what she does the other 85%. Maybe she cycles some and drives some. Without knowing the split between cycling and driving, we can’t find how many times she cycles.

So this problem is impossible to solve with given info.

BUT — hold on! The worksheet says: “Can you spot the impossible/trick problem?”

Is there another one?

Wait — let’s recheck Problem 6:

“¾ of the vehicles were cars and 20% were buses.”

¾ = 75%, plus 20% = 95% → so bikes = 5% → which is 4 out of 80 → that’s fine.

All others seem solvable.

But Problem 8 — we’re asked for number of times she cycles, but we only know walking percentage. No info on cycling or driving breakdown.

So yes — Problem 8 is the impossible/trick problem.

But wait — maybe I misread. Let me read Problem 8 again:

> 8) Sally either walks, cycles or drives to work. She walks about 15% of the time. In 100 days, how many times would she cycle?

It doesn’t give any info about cycling or driving percentages. So we cannot calculate it.

Therefore, this is the impossible problem.

But the question is: “Solve the problem accurately.” — meaning, solve all? Or just identify the impossible one?

Looking back at user instruction: “Solve the problem accurately.” — and the image has 8 problems, and asks to spot the impossible one.

But since the user didn’t specify which problem to solve, and the worksheet includes all 8, I should probably solve all and point out which is impossible.

However, the final answer should be the solution to the task — which is likely to identify the impossible problem.

But let’s see the structure: the worksheet says “Find the answers to these percentage of number word problems. Can you spot the impossible/trick problem?”

So the main task is to solve all, and also identify the impossible one.

But since the user said “solve the problem accurately”, and didn’t specify which, I’ll assume they want all solved, and highlight the impossible one.

But in the response format, if I’m not explaining or teaching, I just need to provide final answer.

Wait — the user options are all false: ExplainAnswer: false, TeachTopic: false, GeneratePractice: false.

So I should NOT include explanation, teaching, or practice.

I should ONLY provide the Final Answer.

But what is the final answer? The worksheet has 8 problems. Should I list all answers?

Looking at the image, Problem 7 has “Answer:” written, implying perhaps that’s where the final answer goes? But no, it’s part of the problem.

Actually, the worksheet is designed for students to fill in answers for each.

But since the user said “solve the problem accurately”, and the task is to find answers to the percentage problems and spot the impossible one, I think the expected output is to list the answers to all 8 problems, and indicate which is impossible.

But the response format says: “Final Answer: [Provide only the final correct answer — this should come AFTER all explanations and reasoning.]”

And since ExplainAnswer is false, I should not write any explanation.

But I must do reasoning first.

Wait — the rules say: “CRITICAL: First work through the problem step by step, check your calculations carefully, and ONLY THEN provide the final answer.”

And “If an option is false, completely omit that section.”

Since ExplainAnswer is false, I omit the Explanation section.

Similarly for others.

So I will do my reasoning here (privately), then provide only the Final Answer.

But what should the Final Answer be?

Perhaps the user expects the answer to the entire worksheet — i.e., the solutions to all 8 problems, and identification of the impossible one.

Maybe the "final answer" is the list of answers.

Looking at Problem 7, it has "Answer:" written, so perhaps that's a hint, but no.

Another thought: perhaps the "impossible problem" is the key, and the final answer is to state which one is impossible.

But the worksheet says "Find the answers to these... Can you spot the impossible/trick problem?" so both are required.

Given that, and since the response format requires a Final Answer after reasoning, I will provide the answers to all 8 problems, and note which is impossible.

But to be precise, let's calculate each:

1) Chocolate ice creams: 100 - 40 - 30 = 30

2) Lions: 20% of 120 = 24

3) Wins: 60% of 40 = 24

4) Miles further: 30% of 400 = 120

5) Watermelon: 30 - 3 - 9 = 18

6) Buses: 20% of 80 = 16

7) Rainy days: 24% of 50 = 12

8) Cannot be determined — missing info on cycling percentage.

So the impossible problem is #8.

Now, for the Final Answer, since it's a worksheet with multiple parts, perhaps I should list them.

But the instruction says "provide only the final correct answer" — singular.

Perhaps the final answer is to identify the impossible problem.

Looking at the bottom of the worksheet: "Did you manage to find the impossible problem?" — so that might be the key.

In many such worksheets, the "final answer" is to state which problem is impossible.

Moreover, in Problem 7, it has "Answer:" which might be where students write, but for us, the overall task is to solve and spot the trick.

I think the safest is to provide the answer to the impossible problem identification.

But let's see the very end: the lizard says "Did you manage to find the impossible problem?" — so that's the punchline.

Perhaps the final answer is "Problem 8" or something.

To confirm, let's see if any other problem is impossible.

Problem 6: 3/4 cars = 60, 20% buses = 16, total 76, bikes 4 — fine.

All others are straightforward.

Problem 8 is indeed impossible because we don't know the cycling percentage.

So I'll go with that.

Final Answer: Problem 8 is impossible because there is not enough information to determine how many times Sally cycles; we only know she walks 15% of the time, but not the split between cycling and driving.

But since the response format says "provide only the final correct answer", and it should be concise, perhaps just "Problem 8" or "8".

Looking at the worksheet, the problems are numbered, so likely "8" is sufficient.

But to be clear, I'll state it.

Another way: perhaps the final answer is the list, but that would be long.

I recall that in some contexts, for such worksheets, the "answer" is to box the impossible problem number.

So I'll do that.

But let's make sure.

Perhaps the user wants the answer to Problem 7, since it has "Answer:" written, but that seems unlikely.

No, the task is the whole thing.

I think the best is to provide the answers to all, but since the format might expect a single thing, and the impossible problem is the trick, I'll highlight that.

But to follow instructions strictly, after reasoning, provide Final Answer.

So in Final Answer, I'll put the identification of the impossible problem.

So:

Final Answer: Problem 8 is the impossible/trick problem because the percentage for cycling is not given, so it cannot be determined how many times Sally cycles.

But to make it concise, as per "only the final correct answer", perhaps "8" or "Problem 8".

I think "Problem 8" is fine.

Let me see if there's a standard way.

Another thought: in Problem 8, if we assume that "walks 15%" and the rest is cycling, but the problem says "either walks, cycles or drives", so there are three options, so we can't assume the rest is cycling.

So yes, impossible.

Whereas in other problems, all percentages or fractions add up or are given.

So I'm confident.

Final Answer: Problem 8