Quiz: Are you better at maths than you think? Let's test it out

Celebrate Maths Week 2026 by putting your sums skills to the test!

REMEMBER WHEN YOU used to sit around in the classroom and laugh about how you’d never have to use maths in the real world?

And then you grew up and realised that real life is pretty much composed of some combination of budgeting, taxes, interest rates and figuring out ways to beat the cost of living crisis? Indeed, a recent online survey discovered that 79% of us feel that being good at maths would make life easier.

Ireland State Savings is supporting Maths Week 2026 as part of its commitment to promoting financial literacy across all age groups, because having a good understanding of your finances and how they work is key to having a happy, healthy and stable life.

Having a grasp on numbers and their importance in life is an essential building block towards financial literacy, particularly with the rise of app-driven event-contract and prediction platforms which are attracting younger audiences and carry a great deal of risk.

The good news is that you’re probably a lot better at maths than you think you, so why not give our quiz a go and find out?

Okay, let's start with something relatively straightforward. What's the square root of 144?

Which of these is not a prime number?

The Pythagorean theorem pertains to what kind of triangle?

Right triangles

Isosceles

Equilateral triangles

What is 13 x 17? Don't use a calculator but feel free to use a pen and paper and submit your workings to The Journal email address.

211

221

231

241

Alright let's try some algebra now. 6x ÷ 3 = 10

Convert this fraction into decimals: 17/20

.80

.825

.85

.875

What is the cube root of 9261?

121

221

321

A rectangle is 8m long and 3m wide. What is its area?

11 m²

48 m²

22 m²

24 m²

A train leaves a station at 9.35 and arrives at its destination at 11.20. How long was the journey? (short documentary or a Marvel movie?)

1 hour 35 minutes

1 hour 45 minutes

1 hour 55 minutes

2 hour 45 minutes

Let's end with some style. A jacket costs €80. It is reduced by 25%, and then a further 10% is take off the reduced price. What is the final price?

€52

€54

€56

€68

Answer all the questions to see your result!

You scored out of !

Mathe-magician

Fractions fear you, equations respect you. 100% of the time, you're correct every time!

You scored out of !

Multiplication maestro

Ok maestro! You've correctly multiplied your way to an elite score, take at least 7 bows for your trouble.

You scored out of !

Improper fraction

You win some, you lose some. Don't be disheartened, getting 4 or above questions correct is still a solid performance. And hey... calculators exist for a reason!

To learn more about how Ireland State Savings can help you get the most out of your money, visit statesavings.ie online today.