Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Polygonal numbers are those that are arranged in shapes as they enlarge. Explore the polygonal numbers drawn here.
Investigate how this pattern of squares continues. You could measure lengths, areas and angles.
While we were sorting some papers we found 3 strange sheets which seemed to come from small books but there were page numbers at the foot of each page. Did the pages come from the same book?
Compare the numbers of particular tiles in one or all of these three designs, inspired by the floor tiles of a church in Cambridge.
What is the smallest number of tiles needed to tile this patio? Can you investigate patios of different sizes?
Can you continue this pattern of triangles and begin to predict how many sticks are used for each new "layer"?
These pictures were made by starting with a square, finding the half-way point on each side and joining those points up. You could investigate your own starting shape.
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?
Explore one of these five pictures.
How many ways can you find of tiling the square patio, using square tiles of different sizes?
An investigation that gives you the opportunity to make and justify predictions.
It starts quite simple but great opportunities for number discoveries and patterns!
A follow-up activity to Tiles in the Garden.
This challenge extends the Plants investigation so now four or more children are involved.
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.
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?
What do these two triangles have in common? How are they related?
In a Magic Square all the rows, columns and diagonals add to the 'Magic Constant'. How would you change the magic constant of this square?
This article for teachers suggests ideas for activities built around 10 and 2010.
I cut this square into two different shapes. What can you say about the relationship between them?
If we had 16 light bars which digital numbers could we make? How will you know you've found them all?
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?
A thoughtful shepherd used bales of straw to protect the area around his lambs. Explore how you can arrange the bales.
What happens if you join every second point on this circle? How about every third point? Try with different steps and see if you can predict what will happen.
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.
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?
Cut differently-sized square corners from a square piece of paper to make boxes without lids. Do they all have the same volume?
In this section from a calendar, put a square box around the 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th. Add all the pairs of numbers. What do you notice about the answers?
Investigate the number of faces you can see when you arrange three cubes in different ways.
Start with four numbers at the corners of a square and put the total of two corners in the middle of that side. Keep going... Can you estimate what the size of the last four numbers will be?
How many tiles do we need to tile these patios?
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.
A challenging activity focusing on finding all possible ways of stacking rods.
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?
An investigation involving adding and subtracting sets of consecutive numbers. Lots to find out, lots to explore.
We can arrange dots in a similar way to the 5 on a dice and they usually sit quite well into a rectangular shape. How many altogether in this 3 by 5? What happens for other sizes?
This challenge asks you to investigate the total number of cards that would be sent if four children send one to all three others. How many would be sent if there were five children? Six?
A group of children are discussing the height of a tall tree. How would you go about finding out its height?
This tricky challenge asks you to find ways of going across rectangles, going through exactly ten squares.
The letters of the word ABACUS have been arranged in the shape of a triangle. How many different ways can you find to read the word ABACUS from this triangular pattern?
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.
Use the interactivity to find all the different right-angled triangles you can make by just moving one corner of the starting triangle.
If I use 12 green tiles to represent my lawn, how many different ways could I arrange them? How many border tiles would I need each time?
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?
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 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?
An activity making various patterns with 2 x 1 rectangular tiles.
This activity asks you to collect information about the birds you see in the garden. Are there patterns in the data or do the birds seem to visit randomly?
Can you find out how the 6-triangle shape is transformed in these tessellations? Will the tessellations go on for ever? Why or why not?
48 is called an abundant number because it is less than the sum of its factors (without itself). Can you find some more abundant numbers?