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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.
Imagine we have four bags containing numbers from a sequence. What numbers can we make now?
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. . . .
Prove that if a^2+b^2 is a multiple of 3 then both a and b are multiples of 3.
Find the largest integer which divides every member of the following sequence: 1^5-1, 2^5-2, 3^5-3, ... n^5-n.
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. . . .
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?
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...
Make a line of green and a line of yellow rods so that the lines differ in length by one (a white rod)
In how many ways can the number 1 000 000 be expressed as the product of three positive integers?
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?
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?
The number 12 = 2^2 × 3 has 6 factors. What is the smallest natural number with exactly 36 factors?
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?
A collection of resources to support work on Factors and Multiples at Secondary level.
Helen made the conjecture that "every multiple of six has more factors than the two numbers either side of it". Is this conjecture true?
This article takes the reader through divisibility tests and how they work. An article to read with pencil and paper to hand.
You are given the Lowest Common Multiples of sets of digits. Find the digits and then solve the Sudoku.
Can you work out what size grid you need to read our secret message?
Can you find any perfect numbers? Read this article to find out more...
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). . . .
How many zeros are there at the end of the number which is the product of first hundred positive integers?
Have you seen this way of doing multiplication ?
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?
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. . . .
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?
For this challenge, you'll need to play Got It! Can you explain the strategy for winning this game with any target?
Consider numbers of the form un = 1! + 2! + 3! +...+n!. How many such numbers are perfect squares?
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.
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.
Each letter represents a different positive digit AHHAAH / JOKE = HA What are the values of each of the letters?
Find the highest power of 11 that will divide into 1000! exactly.
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?
Rectangles are considered different if they vary in size or have different locations. How many different rectangles can be drawn on a chessboard?
A three digit number abc is always divisible by 7 when 2a+3b+c is divisible by 7. Why?
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 clues for this Sudoku are the product of the numbers in adjacent squares.
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.
Imagine we have four bags containing a large number of 1s, 4s, 7s and 10s. What numbers can we make?
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you develop a strategy to work out the rules controlling each light?
Here is a Sudoku with a difference! Use information about lowest common multiples to help you solve it.
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.
Find some examples of pairs of numbers such that their sum is a factor of their product. eg. 4 + 12 = 16 and 4 × 12 = 48 and 16 is a factor of 48.
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?
What is the largest number which, when divided into 1905, 2587, 3951, 7020 and 8725 in turn, leaves the same remainder each time?
Can you find what the last two digits of the number $4^{1999}$ are?
Follow this recipe for sieving numbers and see what interesting patterns emerge.
Take any two digit number, for example 58. What do you have to do to reverse the order of the digits? Can you find a rule for reversing the order of digits for any two digit number?