Being collaborative - primary number

Use your addition and subtraction skills, combined with some strategic thinking, to beat your partner at this game.

Here are some short problems for you to try. Talk to your friends about how you work them out.

Who said that adding couldn't be fun?

Ben and his mum are planting garlic. Can you find out how many cloves of garlic they might have had?

A task which depends on members of the group noticing the needs of others and responding.

There are three versions of this challenge. The idea is to change the colour of all the spots on the grid. Can you do it in fewer throws of the dice?

"Ip dip sky blue! Who's 'it'? It's you!" Where would you position yourself so that you are 'it' if there are two players? Three players ...?

A task which depends on members of the group noticing the needs of others and responding.

Make one big triangle so the numbers that touch on the small triangles add to 10.

Try out this number trick. What happens with different starting numbers? What do you notice?

Can you find two butterflies to go on each flower so that the numbers on each pair of butterflies adds to the number on their flower?

Are these statements relating to odd and even numbers always true, sometimes true or never true?

If you put three beads onto a tens/ones abacus you can make the numbers 3, 30, 12 or 21. What numbers can be made with six beads?

Annie and Ben are playing a game with a calculator. What was Annie's secret number?

Pat counts her sweets in different groups and both times she has some left over. How many sweets could she have had?

How many different shaped boxes can you design for 36 sweets in one layer? Can you arrange the sweets so that no sweets of the same colour are next to each other in any direction?

The planet of Vuvv has seven moons. Can you work out how long it is between each super-eclipse?

Can you work out the arrangement of the digits in the square so that the given products are correct? The numbers 1 - 9 may be used once and once only.

Can you replace the letters with numbers? Is there only one solution in each case?

Can you put the numbers 1-5 in the V shape so that both 'arms' have the same total?

These eleven shapes each stand for a different number. Can you use the number sentences to work out what they are?

In this activity, the computer chooses a times table and shifts it. Can you work out the table and the shift each time?

What happens when you add three numbers together? Will your answer be odd or even? How do you know?

This group activity will encourage you to share calculation strategies and to think about which strategy might be the most efficient.

Use the lines on this figure to show how the square can be divided into 2 halves, 3 thirds, 6 sixths and 9 ninths.

Tom and Ben visited Numberland. Use the maps to work out the number of points each of their routes scores.

Watch the video to see how to fold a square of paper to create a flower. What fraction of the piece of paper is the small triangle?

Can you find different ways of showing the same fraction? Try this matching game and see.

Watch this animation. What do you see? Can you explain why this happens?

Are these statements always true, sometimes true or never true?

A game for two people, or play online. Given a target number, say 23, and a range of numbers to choose from, say 1-4, players take it in turns to add to the running total to hit their target.

This multiplication uses each of the digits 0 - 9 once and once only. Using the information given, can you replace the stars in the calculation with figures?

Arrange the four number cards on the grid, according to the rules, to make a diagonal, vertical or horizontal line.

Can you make square numbers by adding two prime numbers together?

I'm thinking of a number. My number is both a multiple of 5 and a multiple of 6. What could my number be?

What do the numbers shaded in blue on this hundred square have in common? What do you notice about the pink numbers? How about the shaded numbers in the other squares?

Can you see how these factor-multiple chains work? Find the chain which contains the smallest possible numbers. How about the largest possible numbers?

Can you use addition and subtraction to answer these questions about real-life distances?

On my calculator I divided one whole number by another whole number and got the answer 3.125. If the numbers are both under 50, what are they?

There are three tables in a room with blocks of chocolate on each. Where would be the best place for each child in the class to sit if they came in one at a time?

Roll two red dice and a green dice. Add the two numbers on the red dice and take away the number on the green. What are all the different possible answers?

Peter wanted to make two pies for a party. His mother had a recipe for him to use. However, she always made 80 pies at a time. Did Peter have enough ingredients to make two pumpkin pies?

Which pairs of cogs let the coloured tooth touch every tooth on the other cog? Which pairs do not let this happen? Why?