Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Use 4 four times with simple operations so that you get the answer 12. Can you make 15, 16 and 17 too?
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.
Fill in the missing numbers so that adding each pair of corner numbers gives you the number between them (in the box).
Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many sheep there are in each field.
Claire thinks she has the most sports cards in her album. "I have 12 pages with 2 cards on each page", says Claire. Ross counts his cards. "No! I have 3 cards on each of my pages and there are. . . .
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?
There are nasty versions of this dice game but we'll start with the nice ones...
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.
There are over sixty different ways of making 24 by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing all four numbers 4, 6, 6 and 8 (using each number only once). How many can you find?
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?
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?
Put operations signs between the numbers 3 4 5 6 to make the highest possible number and lowest possible number.
This article gives you a few ideas for understanding the Got It! game and how you might find a winning strategy.
What is the sum of all the three digit whole numbers?
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?
The clockmaker's wife cut up his birthday cake to look like a clock face. Can you work out who received each piece?
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.
There were 22 legs creeping across the web. How many flies? How many spiders?
Place the digits 1 to 9 into the circles so that each side of the triangle adds to the same total.
Arrange the numbers 1 to 6 in each set of circles below. The sum of each side of the triangle should equal the number in its centre.
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?
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?
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?
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.
Can you work out how many flowers there will be on the Amazing Splitting Plant after it has been growing for six weeks?
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?
Fill in the numbers to make the sum of each row, column and diagonal equal to 15.
The value of the circle changes in each of the following problems. Can you discover its value in each problem?
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?
Peter, Melanie, Amil and Jack received a total of 38 chocolate eggs. Use the information to work out how many eggs each person had.
Can you score 100 by throwing rings on this board? Is there more than way to do it?
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?
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷) to make these digits come to 100.
This group activity will encourage you to share calculation strategies and to think about which strategy might be the most efficient.
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?
Can you each work out the number on your card? What do you notice? How could you sort the cards?
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?
Where can you draw a line on a clock face so that the numbers on both sides have the same total?
Arrange three 1s, three 2s and three 3s in this square so that every row, column and diagonal adds to the same total.
What is happening at each box in these machines?
What do the digits in the number fifteen add up to? How many other numbers have digits with the same total but no zeros?
Find the next number in this pattern: 3, 7, 19, 55 ...
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?
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.
Here is a chance to play a version of the classic Countdown Game.
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.
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?
Noah saw 12 legs walk by into the Ark. How many creatures did he see?
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?