Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
You have pitched your tent (the red triangle) on an island. Can you move it to the position shown by the purple triangle making sure you obey the rules?
What is the total area of the four outside triangles which are outlined in red in this arrangement of squares inside each other?
I cut this square into two different shapes. What can you say about the relationship between them?
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?
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?
Can you draw a square in which the perimeter is numerically equal to the area?
Read about David Hilbert who proved that any polygon could be cut up into a certain number of pieces that could be put back together to form any other polygon of equal area.
Arrange your fences to make the largest rectangular space you can. Try with four fences, then five, then six etc.
How many ways can you find of tiling the square patio, using square tiles of different sizes?
What fractions of the largest circle are the two shaded regions?
In the four examples below identical squares of side one unit contain some circles shaded blue. In which of the four examples is the shaded area greatest?
How would you move the bands on the pegboard to alter these shapes?
A simple visual exploration into halving and doubling.
What do these two triangles have in common? How are they related?
Grandpa was measuring a rug using yards, feet and inches. Can you help William to work out its area?
Look at the mathematics that is all around us - this circular window is a wonderful example.
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.
This article for teachers gives some food for thought when teaching ideas about area.
How many tiles do we need to tile these patios?
This practical challenge invites you to investigate the different squares you can make on a square geoboard or pegboard.
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?
If I use 12 green tiles to represent my lawn, how many different ways could I arrange them? How many border tiles would I need each time?
At the corner of the cube circular arcs are drawn and the area enclosed shaded. What fraction of the surface area of the cube is shaded? Try working out the answer without recourse to pencil and. . . .
Can you work out the area of the inner square and give an explanation of how you did it?
What is the smallest number of tiles needed to tile this patio? Can you investigate patios of different sizes?
Choose a box and work out the smallest rectangle of paper needed to wrap it so that it is completely covered.
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?
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?
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?
Use the interactivity to find all the different right-angled triangles you can make by just moving one corner of the starting triangle.
Explore this interactivity and see if you can work out what it does. Could you use it to estimate the area of a shape?
How many centimetres of rope will I need to make another mat just like the one I have here?
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.
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?
Derive a formula for finding the area of any kite.
If you have only 40 metres of fencing available, what is the maximum area of land you can fence off?
Can you help the children find the two triangles which have the lengths of two sides numerically equal to their areas?
Can you maximise the area available to a grazing goat?
How have "Warmsnug" arrived at the prices shown on their windows? Which window has been given an incorrect price?
An investigation that gives you the opportunity to make and justify predictions.
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?
Determine the total shaded area of the 'kissing triangles'.
Which is a better fit, a square peg in a round hole or a round peg in a square hole?
What can you say about these shapes? This problem challenges you to create shapes with different areas and perimeters.
It's easy to work out the areas of most squares that we meet, but what if they were tilted?
These pictures were made by starting with a square, finding the half-way point on each side and joining those points up. You could investigate your own starting shape.
A thoughtful shepherd used bales of straw to protect the area around his lambs. Explore how you can arrange the bales.
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. . . .
What are the areas of these triangles? What do you notice? Can you generalise to other "families" of triangles?
Investigate how this pattern of squares continues. You could measure lengths, areas and angles.