Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
In this article for teachers, Elizabeth Carruthers and Maulfry Worthington explore the differences between 'recording mathematics' and 'representing mathematical thinking'.
In this game, you can add, subtract, multiply or divide the numbers on the dice. Which will you do so that you get to the end of the number line first?
Can you use the numbers on the dice to reach your end of the number line before your partner beats you?
Place the numbers 1 to 6 in the circles so that each number is the difference between the two numbers just below it.
Place six toy ladybirds into the box so that there are two ladybirds in every column and every row.
An old game but lots of arithmetic!
Exactly 195 digits have been used to number the pages in a book. How many pages does the book have?
If you have only four weights, where could you place them in order to balance this equaliser?
Place the numbers 1 to 10 in the circles so that each number is the difference between the two numbers just below it.
Can you design a new shape for the twenty-eight squares and arrange the numbers in a logical way? What patterns do you notice?
Use the information about Sally and her brother to find out how many children there are in the Brown family.
Here is a chance to play a version of the classic Countdown Game.
In a square in which the houses are evenly spaced, numbers 3 and 10 are opposite each other. What is the smallest and what is the largest possible number of houses in the square?
There are nasty versions of this dice game but we'll start with the nice ones...
How many solutions can you find to this sum? Each of the different letters stands for a different number.
Can you find six numbers to go in the Daisy from which you can make all the numbers from 1 to a number bigger than 25?
Make your own double-sided magic square. But can you complete both sides once you've made the pieces?
Can you put the numbers 1 to 8 into the circles so that the four calculations are correct?
Use the interactivities to fill in these Carroll diagrams. How do you know where to place the numbers?
How have the numbers been placed in this Carroll diagram? Which labels would you put on each row and column?
A game for 2 or more players with a pack of cards. Practise your skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to hit the target score.
A game for 2 players. Practises subtraction or other maths operations knowledge.
A game for 2 or more players. Practise your addition and subtraction with the aid of a game board and some dried peas!
Can you hang weights in the right place to make the equaliser balance?
Noah saw 12 legs walk by into the Ark. How many creatures did he see?
Use the number weights to find different ways of balancing the equaliser.
In how many ways could Mrs Beeswax put ten coins into her three puddings so that each pudding ended up with at least two coins?
This problem is based on a code using two different prime numbers less than 10. You'll need to multiply them together and shift the alphabet forwards by the result. Can you decipher the code?
A game for 2 people using a pack of cards Turn over 2 cards and try to make an odd number or a multiple of 3.
Start by putting one million (1 000 000) into the display of your calculator. Can you reduce this to 7 using just the 7 key and add, subtract, multiply, divide and equals as many times as you like?
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?
Can you see why 2 by 2 could be 5? Can you predict what 2 by 10 will be?
Choose four of the numbers from 1 to 9 to put in the squares so that the differences between joined squares are odd.
This article gives you a few ideas for understanding the Got It! game and how you might find a winning strategy.
A game for 2 people. Use your skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to blast the asteroids.
Can you make a cycle of pairs that add to make a square number using all the numbers in the box below, once and once only?
Use your addition and subtraction skills, combined with some strategic thinking, to beat your partner at this game.
Have a go at this game which involves throwing two dice and adding their totals. Where should you place your counters to be more likely to win?
This challenging activity involves finding different ways to distribute fifteen items among four sets, when the sets must include three, four, five and six items.
This challenge extends the Plants investigation so now four or more children are involved.
Jack's mum bought some candles to use on his birthday cakes and when his sister was born, she used them on her cakes too. Can you use the information to find out when Kate was born?
Starting with the number 180, take away 9 again and again, joining up the dots as you go. Watch out - don't join all the dots!
Sweets are given out to party-goers in a particular way. Investigate the total number of sweets received by people sitting in different positions.
Make one big triangle so the numbers that touch on the small triangles add to 10. You could use the interactivity to help you.
Can you follow the rule to decode the messages?
If you have ten counters numbered 1 to 10, how many can you put into pairs that add to 10? Which ones do you have to leave out? Why?
If you hang two weights on one side of this balance, in how many different ways can you hang three weights on the other side for it to be balanced?
Imagine a pyramid which is built in square layers of small cubes. If we number the cubes from the top, starting with 1, can you picture which cubes are directly below this first cube?
Choose a symbol to put into the number sentence.
How would you count the number of fingers in these pictures?