Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
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?
How many different symmetrical shapes can you make by shading triangles or squares?
The NRICH team are always looking for new ways to engage teachers and pupils in problem solving. Here we explain the thinking behind maths trails.
The number of plants in Mr McGregor's magic potting shed increases overnight. He'd like to put the same number of plants in each of his gardens, planting one garden each day. How can he do it?
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?
Can you arrange the numbers 1 to 17 in a row so that each adjacent pair adds up to a square number?
My two digit number is special because adding the sum of its digits to the product of its digits gives me my original number. What could my number be?
Starting with four different triangles, imagine you have an unlimited number of each type. How many different tetrahedra can you make? Convince us you have found them all.
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?
Use the interactivity to listen to the bells ringing a pattern. Now it's your turn! Play one of the bells yourself. How do you know when it is your turn to ring?
Charlie and Lynne put a counter on 42. They wondered if they could visit all the other numbers on their 1-100 board, moving the counter using just these two operations: x2 and -5. What do you think?
You have been given nine weights, one of which is slightly heavier than the rest. Can you work out which weight is heavier in just two weighings of the balance?
Use the interactivity to play two of the bells in a pattern. How do you know when it is your turn to ring, and how do you know which bell to ring?
An irregular tetrahedron is composed of four different triangles. Can such a tetrahedron be constructed where the side lengths are 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 units of length?
Do you notice anything about the solutions when you add and/or subtract consecutive negative numbers?
If you are given the mean, median and mode of five positive whole numbers, can you find the numbers?
The clues for this Sudoku are the product of the numbers in adjacent squares.
A Sudoku with clues as ratios.
A Sudoku that uses transformations as supporting clues.
A Sudoku with clues as ratios or fractions.
This second Sudoku article discusses "Corresponding Sudokus" which are pairs of Sudokus with terms that can be matched using a substitution rule.
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.
Two sudokus in one. Challenge yourself to make the necessary connections.
Four numbers on an intersection that need to be placed in the surrounding cells. That is all you need to know to solve this sudoku.
Find all the ways of placing the numbers 1 to 9 on a W shape, with 3 numbers on each leg, so that each set of 3 numbers has the same total.
Draw some isosceles triangles with an area of $9$cm$^2$ and a vertex at (20,20). If all the vertices must have whole number coordinates, how many is it possible to draw?
Use the differences to find the solution to this Sudoku.
This pair of linked Sudokus matches letters with numbers and hides a seasonal greeting. Can you find it?
There is a long tradition of creating mazes throughout history and across the world. This article gives details of mazes you can visit and those that you can tackle on paper.
If you have only 40 metres of fencing available, what is the maximum area of land you can fence off?
Different combinations of the weights available allow you to make different totals. Which totals can you make?
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...
A Sudoku with a twist.
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?
How many solutions can you find to this sum? Each of the different letters stands for a different number.
The idea of this game is to add or subtract the two numbers on the dice and cover the result on the grid, trying to get a line of three. Are there some numbers that are good to aim for?
A Sudoku with clues given as sums of entries.
Label this plum tree graph to make it totally magic!
Solve this Sudoku puzzle whose clues are in the form of sums of the numbers which should appear in diagonal opposite cells.
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 Sudoku based on clues that give the differences between adjacent cells.
This sudoku requires you to have "double vision" - two Sudoku's for the price of one
This article for teachers describes several games, found on the site, all of which have a related structure that can be used to develop the skills of strategic planning.
Find out about Magic Squares in this article written for students. Why are they magic?!
The puzzle can be solved with the help of small clue-numbers which are either placed on the border lines between selected pairs of neighbouring squares of the grid or placed after slash marks on. . . .
in how many ways can you place the numbers 1, 2, 3 … 9 in the nine regions of the Olympic Emblem (5 overlapping circles) so that the amount in each ring is the same?
In this Sudoku, there are three coloured "islands" in the 9x9 grid. Within each "island" EVERY group of nine cells that form a 3x3 square must contain the numbers 1 through 9.