Working systematically

Jack has nine tiles. He put them together to make a square so that two tiles of the same colour were not beside each other. Can you find another way to do it?

There were cola bottles for 2p, mini eggs for 3p, marshmallow twists for 5p and lollipops for 7p in the sweet shop. What could each of the children buy with their money?

Kate has eight multilink cubes. She has two red ones, two yellow, two green and two blue. She wants to fit them together to make a cube so that each colour shows on each face just once.

Ram divided 15 pennies among four small bags. He could then pay any sum of money from 1p to 15p without opening any bag. How many pennies did Ram put in each bag?

Take 5 cubes of one colour and 2 of another colour. How many different ways can you join them if the 5 must touch the table and the 2 must not touch the table?

Have a go at this well-known challenge. Can you swap the frogs and toads in as few slides and jumps as possible?

How many possible symmetrical necklaces can you find? How do you know you've found them all?

There are nine teddies in Teddy Town - three red, three blue and three yellow. There are also nine houses, three of each colour. Can you put them on the map of Teddy Town according to the rules?

There are sixteen teddies in Teddy Town - four red, four blue, four yellow and four green. There are also sixteen houses, four of each colour. Can you put them on the map of Teddy Town according to the rules?

There are twenty five teddies in Teddy Town - five red, five blue, five yellow, five green and five purple. There are also twenty five houses, five of each colour. Can you put them on the map of Teddy Town according to the rules?