Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
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 three digit number abc is always divisible by 7 when 2a+3b+c is divisible by 7. Why?
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?
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?
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 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.
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.
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. . . .
Imagine we have four bags containing a large number of 1s, 4s, 7s and 10s. What numbers can we make?
For this challenge, you'll need to play Got It! Can you explain the strategy for winning this game with any target?
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?
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.
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?
Some 4 digit numbers can be written as the product of a 3 digit number and a 2 digit number using the digits 1 to 9 each once and only once. The number 4396 can be written as just such a product. Can. . . .
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?
What is the smallest number with exactly 14 divisors?
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...
Do you know a quick way to check if a number is a multiple of two? How about three, four or six?
In this activity, the computer chooses a times table and shifts it. Can you work out the table and the shift each time?
How many integers between 1 and 1200 are NOT multiples of any of the numbers 2, 3 or 5?
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?
What is the remainder when 2^2002 is divided by 7? What happens with different powers of 2?
Can you find any perfect numbers? Read this article to find out more...
How many numbers less than 1000 are NOT divisible by either: a) 2 or 5; or b) 2, 5 or 7?
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?
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?
The five digit number A679B, in base ten, is divisible by 72. What are the values of A and B?
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?
Follow this recipe for sieving numbers and see what interesting patterns emerge.
Rectangles are considered different if they vary in size or have different locations. How many different rectangles can be drawn on a chessboard?
Which pairs of cogs let the coloured tooth touch every tooth on the other cog? Which pairs do not let this happen? Why?
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
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?
Can you find what the last two digits of the number $4^{1999}$ are?
Can you find a way to identify times tables after they have been shifted up?
The clues for this Sudoku are the product of the numbers in adjacent 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.
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.
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. . . .
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you develop a strategy to work out the rules controlling each light?
What is the smallest number of answers you need to reveal in order to work out the missing headers?
Imagine we have four bags containing numbers from a sequence. What numbers can we make now?
A game that tests your understanding of remainders.
You are given the Lowest Common Multiples of sets of digits. Find the digits and then solve the Sudoku.
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.
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?
Given the products of adjacent cells, can you complete this Sudoku?
The number 12 = 2^2 × 3 has 6 factors. What is the smallest natural number with exactly 36 factors?