The Case of the Missing Diamond Basketball
The Diamond Basketball is missing! It was the grand prize for the annual Pixel-Portal Tournament. Coach Coral says someone sneaked past the redstone lasers, swam through the mermaid channel, and escaped on a pixelated dinosaur. We have twenty-four sporty suspects from across the ocean, mines, and forests. We need your math skills to crack the case and find the trophy!
Possible suspects
Cross off a row as each clue rules it out. On screen, tap a row.
| Name | Primary Ability | Special Move | Goggle Status | Mane Color | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tricera-Tips | fire breathing | pearl tossing | wearing goggles | pixel green | shiny gold |
| Barnaby Bubble | fire breathing | rainbow dashing | no goggles | neon blue | sponge block |
| Blocky Jordan | block building | pearl tossing | wearing goggles | pixel green | bouncy ball |
| Hornsby Malone | super jumping | ender teleporting | no goggles | pixel green | bouncy ball |
| Kyrie Kelp | block building | ender teleporting | wearing goggles | bright pink | bouncy ball |
| Golem Giannis | horn blasting | pearl tossing | no goggles | neon blue | shiny gold |
| Shaq-o-saurus | fire breathing | dino roaring | no goggles | bright pink | sponge block |
| Magic Mermaid | block building | dino roaring | wearing goggles | pixel green | sponge block |
| Barnum Bow | block building | dunking | wearing goggles | neon blue | sponge block |
| Marina Bird | block building | rainbow dashing | no goggles | neon blue | bouncy ball |
| Dino Doncic | fire breathing | rainbow dashing | wearing goggles | neon blue | sponge block |
| Steph Unicorn | horn blasting | pearl tossing | no goggles | pixel green | shiny gold |
| Ender Ewing | super jumping | dino roaring | wearing goggles | bright pink | bouncy ball |
| Raptor Ray | block building | dino roaring | wearing goggles | pixel green | shiny gold |
| Diamond Dirk | super jumping | rainbow dashing | no goggles | pixel green | shiny gold |
| Steve Spikes | block building | ender teleporting | wearing goggles | bright pink | sponge block |
| Coral Durant | block building | dunking | no goggles | pixel green | shiny gold |
| Sparky Swift | tail swimming | dino roaring | no goggles | pixel green | shiny gold |
| Yoshi Yao | block building | dunking | wearing goggles | neon blue | bouncy ball |
| LeBron Rex | horn blasting | dino roaring | no goggles | pixel green | shiny gold |
| Neptuna Nash | block building | dunking | no goggles | pixel green | sponge block |
Rounding
The stadium radar scans the getaway tracks, but it only shows the distance rounded to the nearest ten. We need to round these block counts to read the radar.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Addition
We found some dropped basketball gear and building blocks on the court. Let us add them up to see how many total items the suspect left behind.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Subtraction
The thief broke some pixelated glass panes to escape the building. If we subtract the broken panes from the starting amount, we can tell how much energy they used.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Multiplication facts (1-12)
The suspect left footprints in rows on the sandy beach. By multiplying the rows of tracks, we can calculate how fast they were running.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Division facts (1-12) — the last clue
We recovered a bag of stolen gold blocks from the scene. If we divide them equally among the junior detectives, we can decode the final clue.
First solve each problem. Then find each answer in the list below and cross that sentence out. One sentence will be left — that's exactly what the villain did!
Name the culprit
Choose the one suspect left standing.
Answer Key — The Case of the Missing Diamond Basketball
- Clue 1 (Rounding): "THE THIEF DOES NOT HAVE THE DUNKING POWER"Round 5,133 to the nearest thousand = 5000 (T) · Round 49 to the nearest ten = 50 (R) · Round 1,994 to the nearest thousand = 2000 (P) · Round 248 to the nearest hundred = 200 (I) · Round 620 to the nearest hundred = 600 (A) · Round 69 to the nearest ten = 70 (N) · Round 29 to the nearest ten = 30 (W) · Round 698 to the nearest hundred = 700 (V) · Round 43 to the nearest ten = 40 (U) · Round 16 to the nearest ten = 20 (S) · Round 8,712 to the nearest thousand = 9000 (O) · Round 7,783 to the nearest thousand = 8000 (K) · Round 485 to the nearest hundred = 500 (E) · Round 4,173 to the nearest thousand = 4000 (H) · Round 326 to the nearest hundred = 300 (D) · Round 888 to the nearest hundred = 900 (F) · Round 93 to the nearest ten = 90 (G)
- Clue 2 (Addition): "THE SUSPECT WAS NOT WEARING GOGGLES"381 + 419 = 800 (T) · 257 + 289 = 546 (O) · 314 + 317 = 631 (P) · 189 + 132 = 321 (E) · 508 + 309 = 817 (H) · 209 + 117 = 326 (I) · 448 + 522 = 970 (G) · 152 + 170 = 322 (A) · 237 + 228 = 465 (R) · 369 + 344 = 713 (N) · 119 + 229 = 348 (W) · 453 + 530 = 983 (L) · 110 + 174 = 284 (C) · 528 + 397 = 925 (S) · 273 + 494 = 767 (U)
- Clue 3 (Subtraction): "THE THIEF LOVES SHINY GOLD"450 - 257 = 193 (T) · 801 - 288 = 513 (N) · 665 - 78 = 587 (Y) · 566 - 168 = 398 (O) · 1164 - 392 = 772 (D) · 1222 - 323 = 899 (F) · 935 - 238 = 697 (V) · 660 - 326 = 334 (E) · 437 - 143 = 294 (H) · 558 - 177 = 381 (G) · 716 - 307 = 409 (S) · 1221 - 394 = 827 (L) · 724 - 204 = 520 (I)
- Clue 4 (Multiplication facts (1-12)): "WE FOUND PIXEL GREEN HAIR"9 × 9 = 81 (W) · 2 × 1 = 2 (U) · 9 × 3 = 27 (A) · 6 × 12 = 72 (F) · 8 × 10 = 80 (E) · 12 × 10 = 120 (N) · 11 × 11 = 121 (D) · 8 × 8 = 64 (I) · 7 × 10 = 70 (L) · 1 × 4 = 4 (G) · 7 × 7 = 49 (R) · 2 × 7 = 14 (O) · 5 × 9 = 45 (X) · 3 × 2 = 6 (H) · 6 × 11 = 66 (P)
- Clue 5 (Division facts (1-12)): surviving statement (box 3) → LeBron Rex8 ÷ 2 = 4 · 8 ÷ 8 = 1 · 48 ÷ 8 = 6 · 14 ÷ 7 = 2 · 16 ÷ 2 = 8 · 40 ÷ 8 = 5 · 72 ÷ 8 = 9 · 70 ÷ 7 = 10 · 99 ÷ 9 = 11 · 48 ÷ 4 = 12 · 56 ÷ 8 = 7
About this mystery
- Grade level
- Grade 3 math
- Math topics
- Rounding, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division
- Reading level
- grades 3-4
- Theme
- The Case of the Missing Diamond Basketball — set in The Blocky Lagoon Stadium
- Format
- Interactive online & printable worksheet with answer key
- Solution
- One unique, verified culprit among 21 suspects