Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Find the decimal equivalents of the fractions one ninth, one ninety ninth, one nine hundred and ninety ninth etc. Explain the pattern you get and generalise.
Let S1 = 1 , S2 = 2 + 3, S3 = 4 + 5 + 6 ,........ Calculate S17.
A story for students about adding powers of integers - with a festive twist.
Take any whole number between 1 and 999, add the squares of the digits to get a new number. Make some conjectures about what happens in general.
Take any two positive numbers. Calculate the arithmetic and geometric means. Repeat the calculations to generate a sequence of arithmetic means and geometric means. Make a note of what happens to the. . . .
This resource contains interactive problems to support work on number sequences at Key Stage 4.
Simple additions can lead to intriguing results...
Powers of numbers behave in surprising ways. Take a look at some of these and try to explain why they are true.
An equilateral triangle rotates around regular polygons and produces an outline like a flower. What are the perimeters of the different flowers?
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you make two lights switch on at once? Three lights? All four lights?
Make some intricate patterns in LOGO
There are lots of ideas to explore in these sequences of ordered fractions.
Investigate the sequences obtained by starting with any positive 2 digit number (10a+b) and repeatedly using the rule 10a+b maps to 10b-a to get the next number in the sequence.
Choose a couple of the sequences. Try to picture how to make the next, and the next, and the next... Can you describe your reasoning?
Can you find a rule which connects consecutive triangular numbers?
Can you find a rule which relates triangular numbers to square numbers?
Imagine a strip with a mark somewhere along it. Fold it in the middle so that the bottom reaches back to the top. Stetch it out to match the original length. Now where's the mark?
Explore this how this program produces the sequences it does. What are you controlling when you change the values of the variables?
Place a red counter in the top left corner of a 4x4 array, which is covered by 14 other smaller counters, leaving a gap in the bottom right hand corner (HOME). What is the smallest number of moves. . . .
Three frogs hopped onto the table. A red frog on the left a green in the middle and a blue frog on the right. Then frogs started jumping randomly over any adjacent frog. Is it possible for them to. . . .
According to an old Indian myth, Sissa ben Dahir was a courtier for a king. The king decided to reward Sissa for his dedication and Sissa asked for one grain of rice to be put on the first square. . . .
Here are some circle bugs to try to replicate with some elegant programming, plus some sequences generated elegantly in LOGO.
Investigate sequences given by $a_n = \frac{1+a_{n-1}}{a_{n-2}}$ for different choices of the first two terms. Make a conjecture about the behaviour of these sequences. Can you prove your conjecture?
Three circles have a maximum of six intersections with each other. What is the maximum number of intersections that a hundred circles could have?
Square numbers can be represented on the seven-clock (representing these numbers modulo 7). This works like the days of the week.
Watch these videos to see how Phoebe, Alice and Luke chose to draw 7 squares. How would they draw 100?
What would you get if you continued this sequence of fraction sums? 1/2 + 2/1 = 2/3 + 3/2 = 3/4 + 4/3 =
Choose any 4 whole numbers and take the difference between consecutive numbers, ending with the difference between the first and the last numbers. What happens when you repeat this process over and. . . .
A introduction to how patterns can be deceiving, and what is and is not a proof.
The nth term of a sequence is given by the formula n^3 + 11n . Find the first four terms of the sequence given by this formula and the first term of the sequence which is bigger than one million. . . .
Show that all pentagonal numbers are one third of a triangular number.
Consider numbers of the form un = 1! + 2! + 3! +...+n!. How many such numbers are perfect squares?
Alison, Bernard and Charlie have been exploring sequences of odd and even numbers, which raise some intriguing questions...
Liam's house has a staircase with 12 steps. He can go down the steps one at a time or two at time. In how many different ways can Liam go down the 12 steps?
The diagram illustrates the formula: 1 + 3 + 5 + ... + (2n - 1) = n² Use the diagram to show that any odd number is the difference of two squares.
In this activity, the computer chooses a times table and shifts it. Can you work out the table and the shift each time?
Explore one of these five pictures.
Have a go at this 3D extension to the Pebbles problem.
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you develop a strategy to work out the rules controlling each light?
Discover a way to sum square numbers by building cuboids from small cubes. Can you picture how the sequence will grow?
Can you show that 1^99 + 2^99 + 3^99 + 4^99 + 5^99 is divisible by 5?
Let a(n) be the number of ways of expressing the integer n as an ordered sum of 1's and 2's. Let b(n) be the number of ways of expressing n as an ordered sum of integers greater than 1. (i) Calculate. . . .
Three people chose this as a favourite problem. It is the sort of problem that needs thinking time - but once the connection is made it gives access to many similar ideas.
Show that 8778, 10296 and 13530 are three triangular numbers and that they form a Pythagorean triple.
Can you find a way to identify times tables after they have been shifted up?
What is the remainder when 2^2002 is divided by 7? What happens with different powers of 2?
Can you puzzle out what sequences these Logo programs will give? Then write your own Logo programs to generate sequences.
A tower of squares is built inside a right angled isosceles triangle. The largest square stands on the hypotenuse. What fraction of the area of the triangle is covered by the series of squares?
Place four pebbles on the sand in the form of a square. Keep adding as few pebbles as necessary to double the area. How many extra pebbles are added each time?
This article for teachers describes the exchanges on an email talk list about ideas for an investigation which has the sum of the squares as its solution.