List

Creating and Manipulating Linear and Quadratic Expressions - Short Problems



This is part of our collection of Short Problems.

You may also be interested in our longer problems on Creating and Manipulating Linear and Quadratic Expressions Age 11-14 and Age 14-16

Printable worksheets containing selections of these problems are available here.
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problem

Starting Fibonacci

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

What is the first term of a Fibonacci sequence whose second term is 4 and fifth term is 22?

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problem

No Matter

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

After performing some operations, what number is your answer always a multiple of?

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problem

Nine in a Line

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

The sum of 9 consecutive positive whole numbers is 2007. What is the largest of these numbers?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Paul's Children

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

Paul is 32 years old. In ten years time, Paul's age will be the sum of the ages of his three sons. What do his sons' ages add up to now?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Cube Pile

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

Rick has five cubes, each one 2cm taller than the previous one. The largest is the same height as a tower built of the two smallest. How high would a tower of all five cubes be?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Grow Up Fast

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

How old will Julie be when her age is equal to the sum of her daughters' ages?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

8 in a Row

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

The sum of five consecutive integers is equal to the sum of the next three consecutive integers. Can you find the largest of these integers?

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problem

Adding and Multiplying

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

Amy misread a question and got an incorrect answer. What should the answer have been?

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problem

Sum and Differences

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
1 out of 3

Three numbers add up to 100. The difference between the larger two is 12 and the difference between the smaller two is 2. What are the numbers?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Not a Polite Question

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
2 out of 3

When asked how old she was, the teacher replied: My age in years is not prime but odd and when reversed and added to my age you have a perfect square...

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problem

Multiple Magic

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Think of any whole number. Each time you perform a sequence of operations on it, what do you notice about the divisors of your answer?

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problem

Building Up

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
2 out of 3

In the diagram, the number in each box is obtained by adding the two immediately below. What is the number in the top box?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Square Total

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
2 out of 3

What is the smallest number Anastasia could have thought of, if after performing some operations, the total is a square number?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Standing on the Table

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Clement and Dmitri both measure how much taller they are than the other when standing on a table. Can you work out how tall the table is?

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problem

Adding in Pairs

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
2 out of 3

These are the results when 3 numbers were added in pairs. What were the numbers?

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problem

Forming Groups

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
3 out of 3

Seventy pupils are divided into two groups. Can you work out the difference between the number of boys in group 1 and the number of girls in group 2?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Black and Gold Storeys

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
3 out of 3

25 of the storeys of a 50 storey building are painted gold, and the rest are painted black...

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Length, Width and Area

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
1 out of 3

The area of a rectangle is 225 square units. Find its width.

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problem

Square and Cube

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

The square of a positive number is twice as big as the cube of that number. What is the number?

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problem

Little Difference

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

What is the value of $2015 \times 2017$ - $2016 \times 2016$?

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problem

Granny's Age

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Weekly Problem 10 - 2015
Granny is four times as old as I am. Five years ago she was five times as old as I was. What is the sum of our ages?

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problem

Adding to 400

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Find four integers whose sum is 400 and such that the first integer is equal to twice the second integer, three times the third integer and four times the fourth integer.

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problem

Brian's Number

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Brian chooses an integer and operates on it. Work out the largest integer that he could have chosen.

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Cuboid Perimeters

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Can you find the volume of a cuboid, given its perimeters?

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problem

Clever Calculation

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Find the shortcut to do this calculation quickly!

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problem

Order the Products

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Can you put these products in order of size?

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problem

Divisible Expression

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

Can you show this algebraic expression is divisible by 4?

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problem

Big Fibonacci

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
2 out of 3

The fifth term of a Fibonacci sequence is 2004. If all the terms are positive integers, what is the largest possible first term?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Choir Boys

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
3 out of 3

Can you work out how many members this choir has from these percentages?

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problem

Third Side

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
3 out of 3

What are the possible lengths for the third side of this right-angled triangle?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Stolen Pension

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
3 out of 3

How much money did the pensioner have before being robbed?

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problem

Find the Factor

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
3 out of 3

Find a factor of $2^{48}-1$.

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problem

There and Back

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
3 out of 3

Brian swims at twice the speed that a river is flowing, downstream from one moored boat to another and back again, taking 12 minutes altogether. How long would it have taken him in still water?

Small pepper seedlings in orange pots.
problem

Months and Years

Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
3 out of 3

The product of Mary's age at her last birthday and her age in complete months is 1800. How old is Mary?