Sweets are given out to party-goers in a particular way. Investigate the total number of sweets received by people sitting in different positions.
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?
Investigate the sum of the numbers on the top and bottom faces of a line of three dice. What do you notice?
Which is quicker, counting up to 30 in ones or counting up to 300 in tens? Why?
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?
Think of a number... follow the machine's instructions. I know what your number is! Can you explain how I know?
Think of a number and follow my instructions. Tell me your answer, and I'll tell you what you started with! Can you explain how I know?
My two digit number is special because adding the sum of its digits to the product of its digits gives me my original number. What could my number be?
We received some superb solutions to this problem, using a range of methods.
Go to last month's problems to see more solutions.
Most primary teachers are not maths specialists. Do letters seem threatening when they are not in words? How can we minimise what seems to be the difference between primary and secondary approaches to the beginning of algebra?
Can you spot the similarities between this game and other games you know? The aim is to choose 3 numbers that total 15.