Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
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?
Go through the maze, collecting and losing your money as you go. Which route gives you the highest return? And the lowest?
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?
Use your logical-thinking skills to deduce how much Dan's crisps and ice-cream cost altogether.
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?
Use the information to work out how many gifts there are in each pile.
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.
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.
Peter, Melanie, Amil and Jack received a total of 38 chocolate eggs. Use the information to work out how many eggs each person had.
These eleven shapes each stand for a different number. Can you use the multiplication sums to work out what they are?
The value of the circle changes in each of the following problems. Can you discover its value in each problem?
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?
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?
Zumf makes spectacles for the residents of the planet Zargon, who have either 3 eyes or 4 eyes. How many lenses will Zumf need to make all the different orders for 9 families?
Where can you draw a line on a clock face so that the numbers on both sides have 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?
Can you score 100 by throwing rings on this board? Is there more than way to do it?
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.
Katie had a pack of 20 cards numbered from 1 to 20. She arranged the cards into 6 unequal piles where each pile added to the same total. What was the total and how could this be done?
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?
Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
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.
Work out Tom's number from the answers he gives his friend. He will only answer 'yes' or 'no'.
This magic square has operations written in it, to make it into a maze. Start wherever you like, go through every cell and go out a total of 15!
Find the product of the numbers on the routes from A to B. Which route has the smallest product? Which the largest?
Put operations signs between the numbers 3 4 5 6 to make the highest possible number and lowest possible number.
What do you notice about the date 03.06.09? Or 08.01.09? This challenge invites you to investigate some interesting dates yourself.
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?
This number has 903 digits. What is the sum of all 903 digits?
Find the next number in this pattern: 3, 7, 19, 55 ...
This group activity will encourage you to share calculation strategies and to think about which strategy might be the most efficient.
Can you work out what a ziffle is on the planet Zargon?
Skippy and Anna are locked in a room in a large castle. The key to that room, and all the other rooms, is a number. The numbers are locked away in a problem. Can you help them to get out?
Can you find which shapes you need to put into the grid to make the totals at the end of each row and the bottom of each column?
Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many sheep there are in each field.
Using the statements, can you work out how many of each type of rabbit there are in these pens?
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?
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!
What is happening at each box in these machines?
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?
What is the lowest number which always leaves a remainder of 1 when divided by each of the numbers from 2 to 10?
These sixteen children are standing in four lines of four, one behind the other. They are each holding a card with a number on it. Can you work out the missing numbers?
If the numbers 5, 7 and 4 go into this function machine, what numbers will come out?
A game for 2 people. Use your skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to blast the asteroids.
Can you arrange 5 different digits (from 0 - 9) in the cross in the way described?
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷) to make these digits come to 100.
A group of children are using measuring cylinders but they lose the labels. Can you help relabel them?
Can you replace the letters with numbers? Is there only one solution in each case?
The clockmaker's wife cut up his birthday cake to look like a clock face. Can you work out who received each piece?
Cherri, Saxon, Mel and Paul are friends. They are all different ages. Can you find out the age of each friend using the information?