Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Use the interactivity to find all the different right-angled triangles you can make by just moving one corner of the starting triangle.
There are nine teddies in Teddy Town - three red, three blue and three yellow. There are also nine houses, three of each colour. Can you put them on the map of Teddy Town according to the rules?
Can you make the most extraordinary, the most amazing, the most unusual patterns/designs from these triangles which are made in a special way?
The ancient Egyptians were said to make right-angled triangles using a rope with twelve equal sections divided by knots. What other triangles could you make if you had a rope like this?
An activity making various patterns with 2 x 1 rectangular tiles.
Place the 16 different combinations of cup/saucer in this 4 by 4 arrangement so that no row or column contains more than one cup or saucer of the same colour.
What is the smallest cuboid that you can put in this box so that you cannot fit another that's the same into it?
What is the smallest number of tiles needed to tile this patio? Can you investigate patios of different sizes?
If we had 16 light bars which digital numbers could we make? How will you know you've found them all?
Explore the different tunes you can make with these five gourds. What are the similarities and differences between the two tunes you are given?
This practical investigation invites you to make tessellating shapes in a similar way to the artist Escher.
How can you arrange the 5 cubes so that you need the smallest number of Brush Loads of paint to cover them? Try with other numbers of cubes as well.
Let's say you can only use two different lengths - 2 units and 4 units. Using just these 2 lengths as the edges how many different cuboids can you make?
Take 5 cubes of one colour and 2 of another colour. How many different ways can you join them if the 5 must touch the table and the 2 must not touch the table?
Investigate all the different squares you can make on this 5 by 5 grid by making your starting side go from the bottom left hand point. Can you find out the areas of all these squares?
What happens to the area of a square if you double the length of the sides? Try the same thing with rectangles, diamonds and other shapes. How do the four smaller ones fit into the larger one?
How many triangles can you make on the 3 by 3 pegboard?
When newspaper pages get separated at home we have to try to sort them out and get things in the correct order. How many ways can we arrange these pages so that the numbering may be different?
Ana and Ross looked in a trunk in the attic. They found old cloaks and gowns, hats and masks. How many possible costumes could they make?
Cut differently-sized square corners from a square piece of paper to make boxes without lids. Do they all have the same volume?
How many ways can you find of tiling the square patio, using square tiles of different sizes?
The challenge here is to find as many routes as you can for a fence to go so that this town is divided up into two halves, each with 8 blocks.
What is the largest number of circles we can fit into the frame without them overlapping? How do you know? What will happen if you try the other shapes?
If you have three circular objects, you could arrange them so that they are separate, touching, overlapping or inside each other. Can you investigate all the different possibilities?
How many different cuboids can you make when you use four CDs or DVDs? How about using five, then six?
Using different numbers of sticks, how many different triangles are you able to make? Can you make any rules about the numbers of sticks that make the most triangles?
How many different ways can you find of fitting five hexagons together? How will you know you have found all the ways?
You cannot choose a selection of ice cream flavours that includes totally what someone has already chosen. Have a go and find all the different ways in which seven children can have ice cream.
Suppose we allow ourselves to use three numbers less than 10 and multiply them together. How many different products can you find? How do you know you've got them all?
This challenge extends the Plants investigation so now four or more children are involved.
In how many ways can you stack these rods, following the rules?
I like to walk along the cracks of the paving stones, but not the outside edge of the path itself. How many different routes can you find for me to take?
Polygonal numbers are those that are arranged in shapes as they enlarge. Explore the polygonal numbers drawn here.
This challenging activity involves finding different ways to distribute fifteen items among four sets, when the sets must include three, four, five and six items.
A group of children are discussing the height of a tall tree. How would you go about finding out its height?
Arrange your fences to make the largest rectangular space you can. Try with four fences, then five, then six etc.
How could you put eight beanbags in the hoops so that there are four in the blue hoop, five in the red and six in the yellow? Can you find all the ways of doing this?
We went to the cinema and decided to buy some bags of popcorn so we asked about the prices. Investigate how much popcorn each bag holds so find out which we might have bought.
This tricky challenge asks you to find ways of going across rectangles, going through exactly ten squares.
This problem is based on the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Investigate the different numbers of people and rats there could have been if you know how many legs there are altogether!
Can you find ways of joining cubes together so that 28 faces are visible?
Can you continue this pattern of triangles and begin to predict how many sticks are used for each new "layer"?
What do these two triangles have in common? How are they related?
Write the numbers up to 64 in an interesting way so that the shape they make at the end is interesting, different, more exciting ... than just a square.
How many shapes can you build from three red and two green cubes? Can you use what you've found out to predict the number for four red and two green?
In this challenge, you will work in a group to investigate circular fences enclosing trees that are planted in square or triangular arrangements.
In this investigation, you must try to make houses using cubes. If the base must not spill over 4 squares and you have 7 cubes which stand for 7 rooms, what different designs can you come up with?
How many different shaped boxes can you design for 36 sweets in one layer? Can you arrange the sweets so that no sweets of the same colour are next to each other in any direction?
An investigation that gives you the opportunity to make and justify predictions.
Can you create more models that follow these rules?