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Follow this recipe for sieving numbers and see what interesting patterns emerge.
Which pairs of cogs let the coloured tooth touch every tooth on the other cog? Which pairs do not let this happen? Why?
How many integers between 1 and 1200 are NOT multiples of any of the numbers 2, 3 or 5?
The number 8888...88M9999...99 is divisible by 7 and it starts with the digit 8 repeated 50 times and ends with the digit 9 repeated 50 times. What is the value of the digit M?
The sum of the first 'n' natural numbers is a 3 digit number in which all the digits are the same. How many numbers have been summed?
Can you find what the last two digits of the number $4^{1999}$ are?
In this activity, the computer chooses a times table and shifts it. Can you work out the table and the shift each time?
Can you find any perfect numbers? Read this article to find out more...
I put eggs into a basket in groups of 7 and noticed that I could easily have divided them into piles of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 and always have one left over. How many eggs were in the basket?
Using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, mulitply a two two digit numbers are multiplied to give a four digit number, so that the expression is correct. How many different solutions can you find?
I'm thinking of a number. When my number is divided by 5 the remainder is 4. When my number is divided by 3 the remainder is 2. Can you find my number?
What is the smallest number of answers you need to reveal in order to work out the missing headers?
Complete the following expressions so that each one gives a four digit number as the product of two two digit numbers and uses the digits 1 to 8 once and only once.
Twice a week I go swimming and swim the same number of lengths of the pool each time. As I swim, I count the lengths I've done so far, and make it into a fraction of the whole number of lengths. . . .
How many numbers less than 1000 are NOT divisible by either: a) 2 or 5; or b) 2, 5 or 7?
Can you find a relationship between the number of dots on the circle and the number of steps that will ensure that all points are hit?
When the number x 1 x x x is multiplied by 417 this gives the answer 9 x x x 0 5 7. Find the missing digits, each of which is represented by an "x" .
Can you find a way to identify times tables after they have been shifted up?
The number 12 = 2^2 × 3 has 6 factors. What is the smallest natural number with exactly 36 factors?
A number N is divisible by 10, 90, 98 and 882 but it is NOT divisible by 50 or 270 or 686 or 1764. It is also known that N is a factor of 9261000. What is N?
Helen made the conjecture that "every multiple of six has more factors than the two numbers either side of it". Is this conjecture true?
Four of these clues are needed to find the chosen number on this grid and four are true but do nothing to help in finding the number. Can you sort out the clues and find the number?
Find the number which has 8 divisors, such that the product of the divisors is 331776.
What is the value of the digit A in the sum below: [3(230 + A)]^2 = 49280A
Look at three 'next door neighbours' amongst the counting numbers. Add them together. What do you notice?
The five digit number A679B, in base ten, is divisible by 72. What are the values of A and B?
What is the smallest number with exactly 14 divisors?
Find the highest power of 11 that will divide into 1000! exactly.
This big box multiplies anything that goes inside it by the same number. If you know the numbers that come out, what multiplication might be going on in the box?
A three digit number abc is always divisible by 7 when 2a+3b+c is divisible by 7. Why?
Find the words hidden inside each of the circles by counting around a certain number of spaces to find each letter in turn.
Norrie sees two lights flash at the same time, then one of them flashes every 4th second, and the other flashes every 5th second. How many times do they flash together during a whole minute?
Find some triples of whole numbers a, b and c such that a^2 + b^2 + c^2 is a multiple of 4. Is it necessarily the case that a, b and c must all be even? If so, can you explain why?
This article for teachers describes how number arrays can be a useful reprentation for many number concepts.
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.
Work out Tom's number from the answers he gives his friend. He will only answer 'yes' or 'no'.
Make a set of numbers that use all the digits from 1 to 9, once and once only. Add them up. The result is divisible by 9. Add each of the digits in the new number. What is their sum? Now try some. . . .
What is the remainder when 2^2002 is divided by 7? What happens with different powers of 2?
Do you know a quick way to check if a number is a multiple of two? How about three, four or six?
6! = 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1. The highest power of 2 that divides exactly into 6! is 4 since (6!) / (2^4 ) = 45. What is the highest power of two that divides exactly into 100!?
A challenge that requires you to apply your knowledge of the properties of numbers. Can you fill all the squares on the board?
Choose any 3 digits and make a 6 digit number by repeating the 3 digits in the same order (e.g. 594594). Explain why whatever digits you choose the number will always be divisible by 7, 11 and 13.
A game in which players take it in turns to choose a number. Can you block your opponent?
A game that tests your understanding of remainders.
Becky created a number plumber which multiplies by 5 and subtracts 4. What do you notice about the numbers that it produces? Can you explain your findings?
Three people chose this as a favourite problem. It is the sort of problem that needs thinking time - but once the connection is made it gives access to many similar ideas.
How can you use just one weighing to find out which box contains the lighter ten coins out of the ten boxes?
In this problem we are looking at sets of parallel sticks that cross each other. What is the least number of crossings you can make? And the greatest?
Given the products of adjacent cells, can you complete this Sudoku?
What is the lowest number which always leaves a remainder of 1 when divided by each of the numbers from 2 to 10?