You may also like

Cubes

How many faces can you see when you arrange these three cubes in different ways?

Pebbles

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?

Bracelets

Investigate the different shaped bracelets you could make from 18 different spherical beads. How do they compare if you use 24 beads?

Up and Down Staircases

Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:

One block is needed to make an up-and-down staircase, with one step up and one step down.

single cube

$4$ blocks make an up-and-down staircase with $2$ steps up and $2$ steps down.

four cubes in 2 step up and down staircase

How many blocks would be needed to build an up-and-down staircase with $5$ steps up and $5$ steps down?

Explain how you would work out the number of blocks needed to build a staircase with any number of steps.


The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.
Copyright © 1997 - 2020. University of Cambridge. All rights reserved.
NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.