Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Tim's class collected data about all their pets. Can you put the animal names under each column in the block graph using the information?
Use the clues to work out which cities Mohamed, Sheng, Tanya and Bharat live in.
There are 4 jugs which hold 9 litres, 7 litres, 4 litres and 2 litres. Find a way to pour 9 litres of drink from one jug to another until you are left with exactly 3 litres in three of the jugs.
In the planet system of Octa the planets are arranged in the shape of an octahedron. How many different routes could be taken to get from Planet A to Planet Zargon?
There are seven pots of plants in a greenhouse. They have lost their labels. Perhaps you can help re-label them.
These activities lend themselves to systematic working in the sense that it helps to have an ordered approach.
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!
On a digital 24 hour clock, at certain times, all the digits are consecutive. How many times like this are there between midnight and 7 a.m.?
My cousin was 24 years old on Friday April 5th in 1974. On what day of the week was she born?
My cube has inky marks on each face. Can you find the route it has taken? What does each face look like?
These activities focus on finding all possible solutions so if you work in a systematic way, you won't leave any out.
Make a pair of cubes that can be moved to show all the days of the month from the 1st to the 31st.
Place eight queens on an chessboard (an 8 by 8 grid) so that none can capture any of the others.
Can you put plus signs in so this is true? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 = 99 How many ways can you do it?
Investigate the different numbers of people and rats there could have been if you know how many legs there are altogether!
These activities focus on finding all possible solutions so working in a systematic way will ensure none are left out.
Alice and Brian are snails who live on a wall and can only travel along the cracks. Alice wants to go to see Brian. How far is the shortest route along the cracks? Is there more than one way to go?
How many ways can you find to do up all four buttons on my coat? How about if I had five buttons? Six ...?
Arrange eight of the numbers between 1 and 9 in the Polo Square below so that each side adds to the same total.
The Vikings communicated in writing by making simple scratches on wood or stones called runes. Can you work out how their code works using the table of the alphabet?
Systematically explore the range of symmetric designs that can be created by shading parts of the motif below. Use normal square lattice paper to record your results.
Can you use this information to work out Charlie's house number?
A game for 2 people. Take turns placing a counter on the star. You win when you have completed a line of 3 in your colour.
Only one side of a two-slice toaster is working. What is the quickest way to toast both sides of three slices of bread?
How many trapeziums, of various sizes, are hidden in this picture?
What is the smallest number of jumps needed before the white rabbits and the grey rabbits can continue along their path?
Put 10 counters in a row. Find a way to arrange the counters into five pairs, evenly spaced in a row, in just 5 moves, using the rules.
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?
Zumf makes spectacles for the residents of the planet Zargon, who have either 3 eyes or 4 eyes. How many lenses will Zumf need to make all the different orders for 9 families?
Sitting around a table are three girls and three boys. Use the clues to work out were each person is sitting.
Six friends sat around a circular table. Can you work out from the information who sat where and what their profession were?
In how many ways can you stack these rods, following the rules?
Place eight dots on this diagram, so that there are only two dots on each straight line and only two dots on each circle.
These activities lend themselves to systematic working in the sense that it helps if you have an ordered approach.
Seven friends went to a fun fair with lots of scary rides. They decided to pair up for rides until each friend had ridden once with each of the others. What was the total number rides?
Place the numbers 1 to 8 in the circles so that no consecutive numbers are joined by a line.
How could you put these three beads into bags? How many different ways can you do it? How could you record what you've done?
Use the clues to find out who's who in the family, to fill in the family tree and to find out which of the family members are mathematicians and which are not.
Can you rearrange the biscuits on the plates so that the three biscuits on each plate are all different and there is no plate with two biscuits the same as two biscuits on another plate?
This magic square has operations written in it, to make it into a maze. Start wherever you like, go through every cell and go out a total of 15!
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?
You have two egg timers. One takes 4 minutes exactly to empty and the other takes 7 minutes. What times in whole minutes can you measure and how?
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?
Using the statements, can you work out how many of each type of rabbit there are in these pens?
What could the half time scores have been in these Olympic hockey matches?
The planet of Vuvv has seven moons. Can you work out how long it is between each super-eclipse?
In a bowl there are 4 Chocolates, 3 Jellies and 5 Mints. Find a way to share the sweets between the three children so they each get the kind they like. Is there more than one way to do it?
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.
If we had 16 light bars which digital numbers could we make? How will you know you've found them all?