Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Stick some cubes together to make a cuboid. Find two of the angles by as many different methods as you can devise.
A tilted square is a square with no horizontal sides. Can you devise a general instruction for the construction of a square when you are given just one of its sides?
An account of multiplication of vectors, both scalar products and vector products.
The article provides a summary of the elementary ideas about vectors usually met in school mathematics, describes what vectors are and how to add, subtract and multiply them by scalars and indicates. . . .
A simplified account of special relativity and the twins paradox.
This problem in geometry has been solved in no less than EIGHT ways by a pair of students. How would you solve it? How many of their solutions can you follow? How are they the same or different?. . . .
A quadrilateral changes shape with the edge lengths constant. Show the scalar product of the diagonals is constant. If the diagonals are perpendicular in one position are they always perpendicular?
Play countdown with vectors.
Charlie likes to go for walks around a square park, while Alison likes to cut across diagonally. Can you find relationships between the vectors they walk along?
Explore how matrices can fix vectors and vector directions.
Can you make matrices which will fix one lucky vector and crush another to zero?
Starting with two basic vector steps, which destinations can you reach on a vector walk?
Form a sequence of vectors by multiplying each vector (using vector products) by a constant vector to get the next one in the seuence(like a GP). What happens?
Find the distance of the shortest air route at an altitude of 6000 metres between London and Cape Town given the latitudes and longitudes. A simple application of scalar products of vectors.
As a quadrilateral Q is deformed (keeping the edge lengths constnt) the diagonals and the angle X between them change. Prove that the area of Q is proportional to tanX.
An account of how mathematics is used in computer games including geometry, vectors, transformations, 3D graphics, graph theory and simulations.
This article looks at knight's moves on a chess board and introduces you to the idea of vectors and vector addition.
Make an eight by eight square, the layout is the same as a chessboard. You can print out and use the square below. What is the area of the square? Divide the square in the way shown by the red dashed. . . .
Do you know how to find the area of a triangle? You can count the squares. What happens if we turn the triangle on end? Press the button and see. Try counting the number of units in the triangle now. . . .
