Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
An investigation involving adding and subtracting sets of consecutive numbers. Lots to find out, lots to explore.
On the graph there are 28 marked points. These points all mark the vertices (corners) of eight hidden squares. Can you find the eight hidden squares?
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷) to make these digits come to 100.
If you have only 40 metres of fencing available, what is the maximum area of land you can fence off?
Square numbers can be represented as the sum of consecutive odd numbers. What is the sum of 1 + 3 + ..... + 149 + 151 + 153?
A country has decided to have just two different coins, 3z and 5z coins. Which totals can be made? Is there a largest total that cannot be made? How do you know?
Here are four tiles. They can be arranged in a 2 by 2 square so that this large square has a green edge. If the tiles are moved around, we can make a 2 by 2 square with a blue edge... Now try. . . .
A car's milometer reads 4631 miles and the trip meter has 173.3 on it. How many more miles must the car travel before the two numbers contain the same digits in the same order?
A 2 by 3 rectangle contains 8 squares and a 3 by 4 rectangle contains 20 squares. What size rectangle(s) contain(s) exactly 100 squares? Can you find them all?
Imagine a large cube made from small red cubes being dropped into a pot of yellow paint. How many of the small cubes will have yellow paint on their faces?
How many different symmetrical shapes can you make by shading triangles or squares?
Four bags contain a large number of 1s, 3s, 5s and 7s. Pick any ten numbers from the bags above so that their total is 37.
A game for 2 or more people, based on the traditional card game Rummy. Players aim to make two `tricks', where each trick has to consist of a picture of a shape, a name that describes that shape, and. . . .
Can you maximise the area available to a grazing goat?
What is the greatest volume you can get for a rectangular (cuboid) parcel if the maximum combined length and girth are 2 metres?
Start with two numbers. This is the start of a sequence. The next number is the average of the last two numbers. Continue the sequence. What will happen if you carry on for ever?
Find a cuboid (with edges of integer values) that has a surface area of exactly 100 square units. Is there more than one? Can you find them all?
Imagine you have a large supply of 3kg and 8kg weights. How many of each weight would you need for the average (mean) of the weights to be 6kg? What other averages could you have?
Use the differences to find the solution to this Sudoku.
Can you find an efficient method to work out how many handshakes there would be if hundreds of people met?
The clues for this Sudoku are the product of the numbers in adjacent squares.
Many numbers can be expressed as the sum of two or more consecutive integers. For example, 15=7+8 and 10=1+2+3+4. Can you say which numbers can be expressed in this way?
How many pairs of numbers can you find that add up to a multiple of 11? Do you notice anything interesting about your results?
There are lots of different methods to find out what the shapes are worth - how many can you find?
Liam's house has a staircase with 12 steps. He can go down the steps one at a time or two at time. In how many different ways can Liam go down the 12 steps?
There are four children in a family, two girls, Kate and Sally, and two boys, Tom and Ben. How old are the children?
Can you find the area of a parallelogram defined by two vectors?
Triangle ABC is isosceles while triangle DEF is equilateral. Find one angle in terms of the other two.
Explore the effect of combining enlargements.
If you are given the mean, median and mode of five positive whole numbers, can you find the numbers?
Each of the following shapes is made from arcs of a circle of radius r. What is the perimeter of a shape with 3, 4, 5 and n "nodes".
What size square corners should be cut from a square piece of paper to make a box with the largest possible volume?
Here is a chance to create some attractive images by rotating shapes through multiples of 90 degrees, or 30 degrees, or 72 degrees or...
Can you describe this route to infinity? Where will the arrows take you next?
The area of a square inscribed in a circle with a unit radius is, satisfyingly, 2. What is the area of a regular hexagon inscribed in a circle with a unit radius?
If: A + C = A; F x D = F; B - G = G; A + H = E; B / H = G; E - G = F and A-H represent the numbers from 0 to 7 Find the values of A, B, C, D, E, F and H.
Explore the effect of reflecting in two parallel mirror lines.
In a three-dimensional version of noughts and crosses, how many winning lines can you make?
Think of two whole numbers under 10. Take one of them and add 1. Multiply by 5. Add 1 again. Double your answer. Subract 1. Add your second number. Add 2. Double again. Subtract 8. Halve this. . . .
According to an old Indian myth, Sissa ben Dahir was a courtier for a king. The king decided to reward Sissa for his dedication and Sissa asked for one grain of rice to be put on the first square. . . .
The number 2.525252525252.... can be written as a fraction. What is the sum of the denominator and numerator?
A jigsaw where pieces only go together if the fractions are equivalent.
Ben passed a third of his counters to Jack, Jack passed a quarter of his counters to Emma and Emma passed a fifth of her counters to Ben. After this they all had the same number of counters.
Can you find six numbers to go in the Daisy from which you can make all the numbers from 1 to a number bigger than 25?
A decorator can buy pink paint from two manufacturers. What is the least number he would need of each type in order to produce different shades of pink.
Play the divisibility game to create numbers in which the first two digits make a number divisible by 2, the first three digits make a number divisible by 3...
Some 4 digit numbers can be written as the product of a 3 digit number and a 2 digit number using the digits 1 to 9 each once and only once. The number 4396 can be written as just such a product. Can. . . .
Do you notice anything about the solutions when you add and/or subtract consecutive negative numbers?
Different combinations of the weights available allow you to make different totals. Which totals can you make?
Do you know a quick way to check if a number is a multiple of two? How about three, four or six?