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Find out about Magic Squares in this article written for students. Why are they magic?!
How can we help students make sense of addition and subtraction of negative numbers?
In sheep talk the only letters used are B and A. A sequence of words is formed by following certain rules. What do you notice when you count the letters in each word?
If each of these three shapes has a value, can you find the totals of the combinations? Perhaps you can use the shapes to make the given totals?
Find a great variety of ways of asking questions which make 8.
Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many sheep there are in each field.
Four bags contain a large number of 1s, 3s, 5s and 7s. Pick any ten numbers from the bags above so that their total is 37.
Using 3 rods of integer lengths, none longer than 10 units and not using any rod more than once, you can measure all the lengths in whole units from 1 to 10 units. How many ways can you do this?
Amy has a box containing domino pieces but she does not think it is a complete set. She has 24 dominoes in her box and there are 125 spots on them altogether. Which of her domino pieces are missing?
Rocco ran in a 200 m race for his class. Use the information to find out how many runners there were in the race and what Rocco's finishing position was.
On the table there is a pile of oranges and lemons that weighs exactly one kilogram. Using the information, can you work out how many lemons there are?
Find out what a Deca Tree is and then work out how many leaves there will be after the woodcutter has cut off a trunk, a branch, a twig and a leaf.
Arrange three 1s, three 2s and three 3s in this square so that every row, column and diagonal adds to the same total.
Use 4 four times with simple operations so that you get the answer 12. Can you make 15, 16 and 17 too?
Place the numbers from 1 to 9 in the squares below so that the difference between joined squares is odd. How many different ways can you do this?
Max and Mandy put their number lines together to make a graph. How far had each of them moved along and up from 0 to get the counter to the place marked?
Can you see why 2 by 2 could be 5? Can you predict what 2 by 10 will be?
Put operations signs between the numbers 3 4 5 6 to make the highest possible number and lowest possible number.
Peter, Melanie, Amil and Jack received a total of 38 chocolate eggs. Use the information to work out how many eggs each person had.
Find out why these matrices are magic. Can you work out how they were made? Can you make your own Magic Matrix?
On a calculator, make 15 by using only the 2 key and any of the four operations keys. How many ways can you find to do it?
Fill in the numbers to make the sum of each row, column and diagonal equal to 15.
As you come down the ladders of the Tall Tower you collect useful spells. Which way should you go to collect the most spells?
There are three buckets each of which holds a maximum of 5 litres. Use the clues to work out how much liquid there is in each bucket.
Fill in the missing numbers so that adding each pair of corner numbers gives you the number between them (in the box).
Fill in the numbers to make the sum of each row, column and diagonal equal to 34. For an extra challenge try the huge American Flag magic square.
If the numbers 5, 7 and 4 go into this function machine, what numbers will come out?
Can you draw a continuous line through 16 numbers on this grid so that the total of the numbers you pass through is as high as possible?
A lady has a steel rod and a wooden pole and she knows the length of each. How can she measure out an 8 unit piece of pole?
Can you score 100 by throwing rings on this board? Is there more than way to do it?
The value of the circle changes in each of the following problems. Can you discover its value in each problem?
Where can you draw a line on a clock face so that the numbers on both sides have the same total?
Can you arrange fifteen dominoes so that all the touching domino pieces add to 6 and the ends join up? Can you make all the joins add to 7?
Sam got into an elevator. He went down five floors, up six floors, down seven floors, then got out on the second floor. On what floor did he get on?
What is happening at each box in these machines?
There were 22 legs creeping across the web. How many flies? How many spiders?
Woof is a big dog. Yap is a little dog. Emma has 16 dog biscuits to give to the two dogs. She gave Woof 4 more biscuits than Yap. How many biscuits did each dog get?
Vera is shopping at a market with these coins in her purse. Which things could she give exactly the right amount for?
Mrs Morgan, the class's teacher, pinned numbers onto the backs of three children. Use the information to find out what the three numbers were.
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷) to make these digits come to 100.
Noah saw 12 legs walk by into the Ark. How many creatures did he see?
There are three baskets, a brown one, a red one and a pink one, holding a total of 10 eggs. Can you use the information given to find out how many eggs are in each basket?
I was looking at the number plate of a car parked outside. Using my special code S208VBJ adds to 65. Can you crack my code and use it to find out what both of these number plates add up to?
The clockmaker's wife cut up his birthday cake to look like a clock face. Can you work out who received each piece?
Here are the prices for 1st and 2nd class mail within the UK. You have an unlimited number of each of these stamps. Which stamps would you need to post a parcel weighing 825g?
Tell your friends that you have a strange calculator that turns numbers backwards. What secret number do you have to enter to make 141 414 turn around?
The Scot, John Napier, invented these strips about 400 years ago to help calculate multiplication and division. Can you work out how to use Napier's bones to find the answer to these multiplications?
On the planet Vuv there are two sorts of creatures. The Zios have 3 legs and the Zepts have 7 legs. The great planetary explorer Nico counted 52 legs. How many Zios and how many Zepts were there?
Cassandra, David and Lachlan are brothers and sisters. They range in age between 1 year and 14 years. Can you figure out their exact ages from the clues?
Place the digits 1 to 9 into the circles so that each side of the triangle adds to the same total.