MATHEMATICS

EXEMPLAR PROBLEMS
Class VIII

ISBN 978-93-5007-218-9
First Edition
October 2012 Asvina 1934
Reprint Edition
March 2013 Phalguna 1934

PD 20T RPS
National Council of Educational
Research and Training, 2012

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ii

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FOREWORD
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 initiated a new phase
of development of syllabi and textbooks for all stages of school education.
Conscious effort has been made to discourage rote learning and to diffuse
sharp boundaries between different subject areas. This is well in tune with
NPE 1986 and Learning Without Burden 1993 that recommend childcentred system of education. The textbooks for Classes VI, VII and VIII were
released respectively in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Overall the books have been
well received by students and teachers.
NCF 2005 notes that treating the prescribed textbooks as the sole
basis of examination is one of the key reasons why other resources and
sites of learning are ignored. It further reiterates that the methods used for
teaching and evaluation will also determine how effective these textbooks
prove in making childrens life at school a happy experience, rather than a
source of stress or boredom.
Learning Mathematics is not about remembering solutions or methods
but knowing how to solve problems. We hope that teachers will give their
students a lot of opportunities to create and formulate problems themselves.
We believe it would be a good idea to ask them to formulate as many new
problems as they can. This would help children in developing an
understanding of the concepts and principles of Mathematics. The nature
of the problems set up by them becomes varied and more complex as
they become confident with the ideas they are dealing in.
Problem-solving strategies give learners opportunities to think rationally,
enabling them to understand and create methods and processes; they
become active participants in the construction of new knowledge rather
than being passive receivers. Learners need to identify and define a problem,
select or design possible solutions and revise or redesign the steps, if
required. Thus the role of a teacher gets modified to that of a guide and
facilitator. On being presented a problem, children first need to decode it.
They need to identify the knowledge required for attempting it and build
model for it.
In order to address such issues, the Department of Education in Science
and Mathematics (DESM) has made an attempt to provide this additional
learning material at upper primary stage. This resource book contains
different types of questions of varying difficulty levels. These problems are
not meant to serve merely as question bank for examinations but are
primarily meant to improve the quality of teaching/learning process in
iii

schools. It is expected that these problems would encourage teachers to

design quality questions on their own. Students and teachers should always
keep in mind that examination and assessment are meant to test
comprehension, information recall, analytical thinking and problem-solving
ability, creativity and speculative ability.
A team of experts and practising teachers with an understanding of the
subject worked hard to accomplish this task. The material was thoroughly
discussed and edited.
NCERT will welcome suggestions from students, teachers and parents
which would help us to further improve the quality of material in subsequent
editions.

New Delhi

iv

Professor Yash Pal

Chairperson
National Steering Committee
National Council of Educational Research
and Training

PREFACE
The Department of Education in Science and Mathematics (DESM), National
Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), initiated the
development of Exemplar Problems in Science and Mathematics for upper
primary stage after completing the preparation of textbooks based on
National Curriculum Framework 2005.
The main objective of the book on Exemplar Problems in Mathematics
is to provide the teachers and students a large number of quality problems
with varying cognitive levels to facilitate teaching learning of concepts in
Mathematics that are presented through the textbook for Class VIII. It is
envisaged that the problems included in this volume would help the teachers
to design tasks to assess effectiveness of their teaching and to know about
the achievement of their students besides facilitating preparation
of balanced question papers for unit and terminal tests. The feedback based
on the analysis of students responses may help the teachers in further
improving the quality of classroom instructions. In addition, the problems
given in this book are also expected to help the teachers to perceive the
basic characteristics of good quality questions and motivate them to frame
similar questions on their own. Students can benefit themselves by
attempting the exercises given in the book for self-assessment and also in
mastering the basic techniques of problem-solving. Some of the questions
given in the book are expected to challenge the understanding of the
concepts of Mathematics of the students and their ability in applying them
to novel situations.
The problems included in this book were developed and refined through
a series of workshops organised by DESM, that involved practising teachers,
subject experts from universities and institutes of higher learning and the
members of the Mathematics group of DESM. We gratefully acknowledge
their efforts and thank them for their valuable contribution in our endeavour
to provide good quality instructional material for the school system.
I express my gratitude to Professor G.Ravindra, Director, NCERT for his
valuable motivation and guidance from time to time. Special thanks are
also due to Dr. P. K. Chaurasia, Assistant Professor in Mathematics, DESM
for coordinating the programme, taking pains in editing and refinement of
problems and for making the manuscript praiseworthy.
We look forward for the feedback from students, teachers and parents
for the further improvement of the contents of this book.
Hukum Singh
Professor and Head
v

vi

DEVELOPMENT TEAM
EXEMPLAR PROBLEMS MATHEMATICS
MEMBERS
A.K. Rajput, Associate Professor, CIET, New Delhi
Anju Loomba, Apeejay School, Noida
Ashutosh K. Wazalwar,Associate Professor, DESM, NCERT, New Delhi
G.P. Dikshit, Professor (Retd.), Lucknow University
Hukum Singh, Professor and Head, DESM, NCERT, New Delhi
Kusum Wadhwa, PGT (Maths), DPS Mathura Road, New Delhi
Mahendra Shankar, Lecturer (S.G.) (Retd.), DESM, NCERT, New Delhi
Minakshi Verma, TGT, DPS, Indra Nagar, Lucknow
Neha Dua, TGT, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi
Omprakash Meena, TGT, K.V. JNU, New Delhi
Ram Avtar, Professor (Retd.), DESM, NCERT, New Delhi
Reemu Verma, TGT, K.V. Masjid Moth, New Delhi
Roohi Fatima, Assistant Professor, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
Shikha Gautam, TGT (Maths), ITL Public School, Dwarka, New Delhi
V.P. Singh, Associate Professor, DESM, New Delhi
MEMBER -

COORDINATOR

P.K. Chaurasia, Assistant Professor, DESM, NCERT, New Delhi

vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Council gratefully acknowledges the valuable contribution of the
following participants in the Review Workshop:
Rajeev Kumar, TGT, Kendriya Vidyalaya, JNU Campus, New Delhi;
Jyoti Tyagi, TGT, Sharda Sen RSKV, Trilok Puri, Delhi; S.K.S. Gautam,
Professor (Retd.), NCERT, New Delhi; Avantika Dam, TGT, CIE Experimental
Basic School, Delhi University, Delhi; Kanak Lata, TGT, K.V. No. 3, Delhi
Cantt., Delhi; Gurpreet Bhatnagar, TGT, Amity International School, Noida;
Rashmi Goyal, TGT, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, Delhi; Nandini
Dhabu, K.V. NTPC, New Delhi; Rakhi Tyagi, TGT, DPS, Mathura Road,
New Delhi; Surabhi Panday, TGT, ITL Public School, Dwarka, New Delhi;
Sunil Kumar, Delhi Police Public School, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi;
Meenakshi Mani, Apeejay School, Noida.
Special thanks are due to Professor Hukum Singh, Head, DESM,
NCERT for his support during the development of this book.
The Council also acknowledges the efforts of Deepak Kapoor, Incharge,
Computer Station; Ajeet Kumar Dabodiya and Rakesh Kumar, DTP
Operators; Manish Kumar Sinha, Computer Assistant; Pradeep Kumar,
Mathematics Laboratory Assistant; Digvijai Singh Atri, Copy Editor and
Abhimanu Mohanty Proof Reader.
The contribution of APC Office, Administration of DESM, Publication
Department and Secretariat of NCERT is also duly acknowledged.

viii

CONTENTS
Foreword

iii

Preface

Problem Solving Strategy

Unit

1 Rational Numbers

Unit

2 Data Handling

33

Unit

3 Square-Square Root and Cube-Cube Root

73

Unit

4 Linear Equations in One Variable

105

Unit

5 Understanding Quadrilaterals and Practical Geometry

129

Unit

6 Visualising Solid Shapes

171

Unit

7 Algebraic Expressions, Identities and Factorisation

213

Unit

8 Exponents and Powers

245

Unit

9 Comparing Quantities

281

Unit 10 Direct and Inverse Proportions

309

Unit 11 Mensuration

337

Unit 12 Introduction to Graphs

365

Unit 13 Playing with Numbers

405

Answers

421

ix

Problem

Solving

Strategy

In Mathematics, a four-step plan can be followed to

solve the problems.

Understand and explore the problem

What has been asked

to find?

What information is
given and what is
needed?

Rewrite the question in your own

words and analyse the information
given in the problem.
Check which information is
needed to answer the question.

Plan a strategy

Check the previous

experience
with
similar problem

Planning to proceed

Think of the other similar problems

that you have successfully solved.

Select a strategy for solving the

problem. There may be several
strategies to solve the given
problem.

Follow the strategy that you have

framed.
Show all the steps in your solution.
Write your final answer as a
complete solution.
Make sure your solution contains
appropriate units.

Solve

Follow the plan

Revise (look back)

Check whether the

question has been
answered or not?

Is the answer
reasonable?
Is there other strategy
that could be used?

Make sure that you have answered

whatever was asked and it makes
sense in the context of the problem.
Solving the given problem using
another strategy is a good way to
check your work.
Check if your answer is reasonable
as per the information given in the
problem.