Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Factor track is not a race but a game of skill. The idea is to go round the track in as few moves as possible, keeping to the rules.
56 406 is the product of two consecutive numbers. What are these two numbers?
What is the lowest number which always leaves a remainder of 1 when divided by each of the numbers from 2 to 10?
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?
Is it possible to draw a 5-pointed star without taking your pencil off the paper? Is it possible to draw a 6-pointed star in the same way without taking your pen off?
Can you work out what a ziffle is on the planet Zargon?
Work out Tom's number from the answers he gives his friend. He will only answer 'yes' or 'no'.
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?
Which is quicker, counting up to 30 in ones or counting up to 300 in tens? Why?
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?
Nearly all of us have made table patterns on hundred squares, that is 10 by 10 grids. This problem looks at the patterns on differently sized square grids.
This article for teachers describes how number arrays can be a useful reprentation for many number concepts.
A game for 2 people using a pack of cards Turn over 2 cards and try to make an odd number or a multiple of 3.
Can you see how these factor-multiple chains work? Find the chain which contains the smallest possible numbers. How about the largest possible numbers?
There are a number of coins on a table. One quarter of the coins show heads. If I turn over 2 coins, then one third show heads. How many coins are there altogether?
Katie and Will have some balloons. Will's balloon burst at exactly the same size as Katie's at the beginning of a puff. How many puffs had Will done before his balloon burst?
Does a graph of the triangular numbers cross a graph of the six times table? If so, where? Will a graph of the square numbers cross the times table too?
On the planet Vuv there are two sorts of creatures. The Zios have 3 legs and the Zepts have 7 legs. The great planetary explorer Nico counted 52 legs. How many Zios and how many Zepts were there?
I am thinking of three sets of numbers less than 101. They are the red set, the green set and the blue set. Can you find all the numbers in the sets from these clues?
Find the words hidden inside each of the circles by counting around a certain number of spaces to find each letter in turn.
How can you use just one weighing to find out which box contains the lighter ten coins out of the ten boxes?
Ben’s class were making cutting up number tracks. First they cut them into twos and added up the numbers on each piece. What patterns could they see?
I throw three dice and get 5, 3 and 2. Add the scores on the three dice. What do you get? Now multiply the scores. What do you notice?
A game for 2 or more people. Starting with 100, subratct a number from 1 to 9 from the total. You score for making an odd number, a number ending in 0 or a multiple of 6.
There is a clock-face where the numbers have become all mixed up. Can you find out where all the numbers have got to from these ten statements?
Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
I am thinking of three sets of numbers less than 101. Can you find all the numbers in each set from these clues?
These red, yellow and blue spinners were each spun 45 times in total. Can you work out which numbers are on each spinner?
Can you order the digits from 1-6 to make a number which is divisible by 6 so when the last digit is removed it becomes a 5-figure number divisible by 5, and so on?
Look at three 'next door neighbours' amongst the counting numbers. Add them together. What do you notice?
Suppose we allow ourselves to use three numbers less than 10 and multiply them together. How many different products can you find? How do you know you've got them all?
A game in which players take it in turns to choose a number. Can you block your opponent?
A student in a maths class was trying to get some information from her teacher. She was given some clues and then the teacher ended by saying, "Well, how old are they?"
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?
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?
If you have only four weights, where could you place them in order to balance this equaliser?
The planet of Vuvv has seven moons. Can you work out how long it is between each super-eclipse?
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?
Starting with the number 180, take away 9 again and again, joining up the dots as you go. Watch out - don't join all the dots!
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?
Can you find what the last two digits of the number $4^{1999}$ are?
This package contains a collection of problems from the NRICH website that could be suitable for students who have a good understanding of Factors and Multiples and who feel ready to take on some. . . .
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?
How many different shaped boxes can you design for 36 sweets in one layer? Can you arrange the sweets so that no sweets of the same colour are next to each other in any direction?
When Charlie asked his grandmother how old she is, he didn't get a straightforward reply! Can you work out how old she is?
Nine squares with side lengths 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, and 18 cm can be fitted together to form a rectangle. What are the dimensions of the rectangle?
There are ten children in Becky's group. Can you find a set of numbers for each of them? Are there any other sets?
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.
Can you work out the arrangement of the digits in the square so that the given products are correct? The numbers 1 - 9 may be used once and once only.
A game that tests your understanding of remainders.