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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?
There is a clock-face where the numbers have become all mixed up. Can you find out where all the numbers have got to from these ten statements?
If the numbers 5, 7 and 4 go into this function machine, what numbers will come out?
Find the next number in this pattern: 3, 7, 19, 55 ...
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?
What is the lowest number which always leaves a remainder of 1 when divided by each of the numbers from 2 to 10?
56 406 is the product of two consecutive numbers. What are these two numbers?
Look on the back of any modern book and you will find an ISBN code. Take this code and calculate this sum in the way shown. Can you see what the answers always have in common?
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?
Where can you draw a line on a clock face so that the numbers on both sides have the same total?
EWWNP means Exploring Wild and Wonderful Number Patterns Created by Yourself! Investigate what happens if we create number patterns using some simple rules.
Work out Tom's number from the answers he gives his friend. He will only answer 'yes' or 'no'.
Use the information to work out how many gifts there are in each pile.
Use 4 four times with simple operations so that you get the answer 12. Can you make 15, 16 and 17 too?
The value of the circle changes in each of the following problems. Can you discover its value in each problem?
Try adding together the dates of all the days in one week. Now multiply the first date by 7 and add 21. Can you explain what happens?
48 is called an abundant number because it is less than the sum of its factors (without itself). Can you find some more abundant numbers?
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.
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.
Can you score 100 by throwing rings on this board? Is there more than way to do it?
What is happening at each box in these machines?
Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
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.
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 happens when you add the digits of a number then multiply the result by 2 and you keep doing this? You could try for different numbers and different rules.
This group activity will encourage you to share calculation strategies and to think about which strategy might be the most efficient.
How would you count the number of fingers in these pictures?
Tom and Ben visited Numberland. Use the maps to work out the number of points each of their routes scores.
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 work out what a ziffle is on the planet Zargon?
Look at what happens when you take a number, square it and subtract your answer. What kind of number do you get? Can you prove it?
Which is quicker, counting up to 30 in ones or counting up to 300 in tens? Why?
If the answer's 2010, what could the question be?
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?
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?
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?
Can you see how these factor-multiple chains work? Find the chain which contains the smallest possible numbers. How about the largest possible numbers?
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.
In this investigation, you are challenged to make mobile phone numbers which are easy to remember. What happens if you make a sequence adding 2 each time?
This number has 903 digits. What is the sum of all 903 digits?
Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many sheep there are in each field.
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?
Put operations signs between the numbers 3 4 5 6 to make the highest possible number and lowest possible number.
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷) to make these digits come to 100.
The clockmaker's wife cut up his birthday cake to look like a clock face. Can you work out who received each piece?
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?
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?
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?
What is the sum of all the three digit whole numbers?