Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Which is quicker, counting up to 30 in ones or counting up to 300 in tens? Why?
Work out Tom's number from the answers he gives his friend. He will only answer 'yes' or 'no'.
Can you work out how many flowers there will be on the Amazing Splitting Plant after it has been growing for six weeks?
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. . . .
All the girls would like a puzzle each for Christmas and all the boys would like a book each. Solve the riddle to find out how many puzzles and books Santa left.
Use this grid to shade the numbers in the way described. Which numbers do you have left? Do you know what they are called?
This big box multiplies anything that goes inside it by the same number. If you know the numbers that come out, what multiplication might be going on in the box?
56 406 is the product of two consecutive numbers. What are these two numbers?
Use 4 four times with simple operations so that you get the answer 12. Can you make 15, 16 and 17 too?
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.
Put operations signs between the numbers 3 4 5 6 to make the highest possible number and lowest possible number.
Can you see how these factor-multiple chains work? Find the chain which contains the smallest possible numbers. How about the largest possible numbers?
Twizzle, a female giraffe, needs transporting to another zoo. Which route will give the fastest journey?
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?
Can you work out what a ziffle is on the planet Zargon?
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.
What is the lowest number which always leaves a remainder of 1 when divided by each of the numbers from 2 to 10?
Can you complete this jigsaw of the multiplication square?
This multiplication uses each of the digits 0 - 9 once and once only. Using the information given, can you replace the stars in the calculation with figures?
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?
Can you replace the letters with numbers? Is there only one solution in each case?
There were 22 legs creeping across the web. How many flies? How many spiders?
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?
The clockmaker's wife cut up his birthday cake to look like a clock face. Can you work out who received each piece?
Using the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 once and only once, and the operations x and ÷ once and only once, what is the smallest whole number you can make?
In the multiplication sum, some of the digits have been replaced by letters and others by asterisks. Can you reconstruct the original multiplication?
What is the sum of all the three digit whole numbers?
In November, Liz was interviewed for an article on a parents' website about learning times tables. Read the article here.
A game for 2 people. Use your skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to blast the asteroids.
Ben’s class were making cutting up number tracks. First they cut them into twos and added up the numbers on each piece. What patterns could they see?
Use your logical-thinking skills to deduce how much Dan's crisps and ice-cream cost altogether.
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.
Here is a picnic that Chris and Michael are going to share equally. Can you tell us what each of them will have?
Go through the maze, collecting and losing your money as you go. Which route gives you the highest return? And the lowest?
We can arrange dots in a similar way to the 5 on a dice and they usually sit quite well into a rectangular shape. How many altogether in this 3 by 5? What happens for other sizes?
This article for teachers describes how modelling number properties involving multiplication using an array of objects not only allows children to represent their thinking with concrete materials,. . . .
Suppose we allow ourselves to use three numbers less than 10 and multiply them together. How many different products can you find? How do you know you've got them all?
Can you work out the arrangement of the digits in the square so that the given products are correct? The numbers 1 - 9 may be used once and once only.
There were chews for 2p, mini eggs for 3p, Chocko bars for 5p and lollypops for 7p in the sweet shop. What could each of the children buy with their money?
This problem is based on the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Investigate the different numbers of people and rats there could have been if you know how many legs there are altogether!
There are four equal weights on one side of the scale and an apple on the other side. What can you say that is true about the apple and the weights from the picture?
Cherri, Saxon, Mel and Paul are friends. They are all different ages. Can you find out the age of each friend using the information?
Take the number 6 469 693 230 and divide it by the first ten prime numbers and you'll find the most beautiful, most magic of all numbers. What is it?
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?
Resources to support understanding of multiplication and division through playing with number.
This article for teachers looks at how teachers can use problems from the NRICH site to help them teach division.
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?
If the numbers 5, 7 and 4 go into this function machine, what numbers will come out?
Here is a chance to play a version of the classic Countdown Game.
Find the next number in this pattern: 3, 7, 19, 55 ...