Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
What are the areas of these triangles? What do you notice? Can you generalise to other "families" of triangles?
Can you find the area of a parallelogram defined by two vectors?
Can you maximise the area available to a grazing goat?
The area of a square inscribed in a circle with a unit radius is, satisfyingly, 2. What is the area of a regular hexagon inscribed in a circle with a unit radius?
Seven small rectangular pictures have one inch wide frames. The frames are removed and the pictures are fitted together like a jigsaw to make a rectangle of length 12 inches. Find the dimensions of. . . .
It is possible to dissect any square into smaller squares. What is the minimum number of squares a 13 by 13 square can be dissected into?
How many centimetres of rope will I need to make another mat just like the one I have here?
Semicircles are drawn on the sides of a rectangle ABCD. A circle passing through points ABCD carves out four crescent-shaped regions. Prove that the sum of the areas of the four crescents is equal to. . . .
It's easy to work out the areas of most squares that we meet, but what if they were tilted?
Polygons drawn on square dotty paper have dots on their perimeter (p) and often internal (i) ones as well. Find a relationship between p, i and the area of the polygons.
If you have only 40 metres of fencing available, what is the maximum area of land you can fence off?
Draw some isosceles triangles with an area of $9$cm$^2$ and a vertex at (20,20). If all the vertices must have whole number coordinates, how many is it possible to draw?
Do you know how to find the area of a triangle? You can count the squares. What happens if we turn the triangle on end? Press the button and see. Try counting the number of units in the triangle now. . . .
What can you say about these shapes? This problem challenges you to create shapes with different areas and perimeters.
A red square and a blue square overlap so that the corner of the red square rests on the centre of the blue square. Show that, whatever the orientation of the red square, it covers a quarter of the. . . .
Make an eight by eight square, the layout is the same as a chessboard. You can print out and use the square below. What is the area of the square? Divide the square in the way shown by the red dashed. . . .
How can you change the area of a shape but keep its perimeter the same? How can you change the perimeter but keep the area the same?
This rectangle is cut into five pieces which fit exactly into a triangular outline and also into a square outline where the triangle, the rectangle and the square have equal areas.
A hallway floor is tiled and each tile is one foot square. Given that the number of tiles around the perimeter is EXACTLY half the total number of tiles, find the possible dimensions of the hallway.
Can you help the children find the two triangles which have the lengths of two sides numerically equal to their areas?
Use the interactivity to find all the different right-angled triangles you can make by just moving one corner of the starting triangle.
What shape has Harry drawn on this clock face? Can you find its area? What is the largest number of square tiles that could cover this area?
An investigation that gives you the opportunity to make and justify predictions.
Can you draw a square in which the perimeter is numerically equal to the area?
What is the largest number of circles we can fit into the frame without them overlapping? How do you know? What will happen if you try the other shapes?
What happens to the area of a square if you double the length of the sides? Try the same thing with rectangles, diamonds and other shapes. How do the four smaller ones fit into the larger one?
How many ways can you find of tiling the square patio, using square tiles of different sizes?
Choose a box and work out the smallest rectangle of paper needed to wrap it so that it is completely covered.
Determine the total shaded area of the 'kissing triangles'.
These rectangles have been torn. How many squares did each one have inside it before it was ripped?
How have "Warmsnug" arrived at the prices shown on their windows? Which window has been given an incorrect price?
Can you work out the area of the inner square and give an explanation of how you did it?
Cut differently-sized square corners from a square piece of paper to make boxes without lids. Do they all have the same volume?
What is the smallest number of tiles needed to tile this patio? Can you investigate patios of different sizes?
This practical challenge invites you to investigate the different squares you can make on a square geoboard or pegboard.
Investigate all the different squares you can make on this 5 by 5 grid by making your starting side go from the bottom left hand point. Can you find out the areas of all these squares?
Can you find rectangles where the value of the area is the same as the value of the perimeter?
I'm thinking of a rectangle with an area of 24. What could its perimeter be?
You can move the 4 pieces of the jigsaw and fit them into both outlines. Explain what has happened to the missing one unit of area.
Is it possible to remove ten unit cubes from a 3 by 3 by 3 cube made from 27 unit cubes so that the surface area of the remaining solid is the same as the surface area of the original 3 by 3 by 3. . . .
A follow-up activity to Tiles in the Garden.
What is the total area of the four outside triangles which are outlined in red in this arrangement of squares inside each other?
Have a good look at these images. Can you describe what is happening? There are plenty more images like this on NRICH's Exploring Squares CD.
Points P, Q, R and S each divide the sides AB, BC, CD and DA respectively in the ratio of 2 : 1. Join the points. What is the area of the parallelogram PQRS in relation to the original rectangle?
Derive a formula for finding the area of any kite.
An activity for high-attaining learners which involves making a new cylinder from a cardboard tube.
This article for teachers gives some food for thought when teaching ideas about area.
Prove that a triangle with sides of length 5, 5 and 6 has the same area as a triangle with sides of length 5, 5 and 8. Find other pairs of non-congruent isosceles triangles which have equal areas.
A circle with the radius of 2.2 centimetres is drawn touching the sides of a square. What area of the square is NOT covered by the circle?
What do these two triangles have in common? How are they related?