Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Find the largest integer which divides every member of the following sequence: 1^5-1, 2^5-2, 3^5-3, ... n^5-n.
Prove that if a^2+b^2 is a multiple of 3 then both a and b are multiples of 3.
The nth term of a sequence is given by the formula n^3 + 11n . Find the first four terms of the sequence given by this formula and the first term of the sequence which is bigger than one million. . . .
Imagine we have four bags containing numbers from a sequence. What numbers can we make now?
Find the smallest positive integer N such that N/2 is a perfect cube, N/3 is a perfect fifth power and N/5 is a perfect seventh power.
Can you convince me of each of the following: If a square number is multiplied by a square number the product is ALWAYS a square number...
Factorial one hundred (written 100!) has 24 noughts when written in full and that 1000! has 249 noughts? Convince yourself that the above is true. Perhaps your methodology will help you find the. . . .
Data is sent in chunks of two different sizes - a yellow chunk has 5 characters and a blue chunk has 9 characters. A data slot of size 31 cannot be exactly filled with a combination of yellow and. . . .
115^2 = (110 x 120) + 25, that is 13225 895^2 = (890 x 900) + 25, that is 801025 Can you explain what is happening and generalise?
Given any 3 digit number you can use the given digits and name another number which is divisible by 37 (e.g. given 628 you say 628371 is divisible by 37 because you know that 6+3 = 2+7 = 8+1 = 9). . . .
Caroline and James pick sets of five numbers. Charlie chooses three of them that add together to make a multiple of three. Can they stop him?
This article takes the reader through divisibility tests and how they work. An article to read with pencil and paper to hand.
Make a line of green and a line of yellow rods so that the lines differ in length by one (a white rod)
Helen made the conjecture that "every multiple of six has more factors than the two numbers either side of it". Is this conjecture true?
In how many ways can the number 1 000 000 be expressed as the product of three positive integers?
Have you seen this way of doing multiplication ?
A collection of resources to support work on Factors and Multiples at Secondary level.
How many integers between 1 and 1200 are NOT multiples of any of the numbers 2, 3 or 5?
What is the smallest number of answers you need to reveal in order to work out the missing headers?
Follow this recipe for sieving numbers and see what interesting patterns emerge.
Can you find any perfect numbers? Read this article to find out more...
List any 3 numbers. It is always possible to find a subset of adjacent numbers that add up to a multiple of 3. Can you explain why and prove it?
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?
Which pairs of cogs let the coloured tooth touch every tooth on the other cog? Which pairs do not let this happen? Why?
You are given the Lowest Common Multiples of sets of digits. Find the digits and then solve the Sudoku.
Rectangles are considered different if they vary in size or have different locations. How many different rectangles can be drawn on a chessboard?
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.
Can you work out what size grid you need to read our secret message?
The number 12 = 2^2 × 3 has 6 factors. What is the smallest natural number with exactly 36 factors?
A three digit number abc is always divisible by 7 when 2a+3b+c is divisible by 7. Why?
Find the frequency distribution for ordinary English, and use it to help you crack the code.
Substitution and Transposition all in one! How fiendish can these codes get?
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?
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?
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?
Find the highest power of 11 that will divide into 1000! exactly.
Can you find a way to identify times tables after they have been shifted up?
The puzzle can be solved by finding the values of the unknown digits (all indicated by asterisks) in the squares of the $9\times9$ grid.
In this activity, the computer chooses a times table and shifts it. Can you work out the table and the shift each time?
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. . . .
Explore the relationship between simple linear functions and their graphs.
Imagine we have four bags containing a large number of 1s, 4s, 7s and 10s. What numbers can we make?
Given the products of adjacent cells, can you complete this Sudoku?
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you develop a strategy to work out the rules controlling each light?
Each letter represents a different positive digit AHHAAH / JOKE = HA What are the values of each of the letters?
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?
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?
The clues for this Sudoku are the product of the numbers in adjacent squares.
A game for two people, or play online. Given a target number, say 23, and a range of numbers to choose from, say 1-4, players take it in turns to add to the running total to hit their target.
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?