Reasoning, Convincing and Proof is part of our Developing Mathematical Thinking collection.
Treasure hunt
Can you find a reliable strategy for choosing coordinates that will locate the treasure in the minimum number of guesses?
Your number is...
Statement snap
Fruity totals
In this interactivity each fruit has a hidden value. Can you deduce what each one is worth?
Missing multipliers
The Number Jumbler
The Number Jumbler can always work out your chosen symbol. Can you work out how?
5 by 5 Mathdokus
Can you use the clues to complete these 5 by 5 Mathematical Sudokus?
More less is more
Remainders
I'm thinking of a number. My number is both a multiple of 5 and a multiple of 6. What could my number be?
Number lines in disguise
American billions
Crossed ends
Cyclic quadrilaterals
Draw some quadrilaterals on a 9-point circle and work out the angles. Is there a theorem?
Special numbers
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?
Multiples Sudoku
Each clue in this Sudoku is the product of the two numbers in adjacent cells.
Gabriel's problem
Tilted squares
It's easy to work out the areas of most squares that we meet, but what if they were tilted?
What numbers can we make?
Imagine we have four bags containing a large number of 1s, 4s, 7s and 10s. What numbers can we make?
Arithmagons
Can you find the values at the vertices when you know the values on the edges?
Triangles in circles
Can you find triangles on a 9-point circle? Can you work out their angles?
Place your orders
Semi-regular tessellations
Semi-regular tessellations combine two or more different regular polygons to fill the plane. Can you find all the semi-regular tessellations?
Olympic measures
Strange bank account
Imagine a very strange bank account where you are only allowed to do two things...
All in a jumble
Impossibilities
Just because a problem is impossible doesn't mean it's difficult...
Marbles in a box
Overlaps
Think of two numbers
Pythagoras proofs
Can you make sense of these three proofs of Pythagoras' Theorem?
Same length
Construct two equilateral triangles on a straight line. There are two lengths that look the same - can you prove it?
Fibonacci surprises
Play around with the Fibonacci sequence and discover some surprising results!
Tower of Hanoi
The Tower of Hanoi is an ancient mathematical challenge. Working on the building blocks may help you to explain the patterns you notice.
Take three from five
Caroline and James pick sets of five numbers. Charlie tries to find three that add together to make a multiple of three. Can they stop him?
Power mad!
Powers of numbers behave in surprising ways. Take a look at some of these and try to explain why they are true.
More number pyramids
When number pyramids have a sequence on the bottom layer, some interesting patterns emerge...
Star polygons
Draw some stars and measure the angles at their points. Can you find and prove a result about their sum?
Always a multiple?
Seven squares - group-worthy task
What does it all add up to?
Fill me up
Can you sketch graphs to show how the height of water changes in different containers as they are filled?
Legs eleven
Squares in rectangles
Product Sudoku
The clues for this Sudoku are the product of the numbers in adjacent squares.
What numbers can we make now?
Imagine we have four bags containing numbers from a sequence. What numbers can we make now?
Triangle numbers
Shopping basket
The items in the shopping basket add and multiply to give the same amount. What could their prices be?
The greedy algorithm
Which solids can we make?
Interior angles can help us to work out which polygons will tessellate. Can we use similar ideas to predict which polygons combine to create semi-regular solids?
Differences
Consecutive negative numbers
Mega quadratic equations
Curvy areas
A little light thinking
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you make two lights switch on at once? Three lights? All four lights?
Isosceles seven
Is it possible to find the angles in this rather special isosceles triangle?
Common divisor
Can you find out what numbers divide these expressions? Can you prove that they are always divisors?
Speeding boats
Generating triples
Circles in quadrilaterals
Explore when it is possible to construct a circle which just touches all four sides of a quadrilateral.
Speed-time problems at the Olympics
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to race against Usain Bolt?
Salinon
Finding factors
Factorising with multilink
Nutrition and cycling
How old am I?
In 15 years' time my age will be the square of my age 15 years ago. Can you work out my age, and when I had other special birthdays?
Iff
Pythagoras perimeters
CD Heaven
All CD Heaven stores were given the same number of a popular CD to sell for £24. In their two week sale each store reduces the price of the CD by 25% ... How many CDs did the store sell at each price?
LCM Sudoku
Here is a Sudoku with a difference! Use information about lowest common multiples to help you solve it.
Difference of two squares
Terminology
Always perfect
Puzzling place value
Partly painted cube
Back fitter
10 graphs of experimental data are given. Can you use a spreadsheet to find algebraic graphs which match them closely, and thus discover the formulae most likely to govern the underlying processes?
Painted cube
Picture story
Multiplication square
Multiplication arithmagons
Can you find the values at the vertices when you know the values on the edges of these multiplication arithmagons?
Doesn't add up
In this problem we are faced with an apparently easy area problem, but it has gone horribly wrong! What happened?
Two ladders
Two ladders are propped up against facing walls. At what height do the ladders cross?
Quad in quad
Join the midpoints of a quadrilateral to get a new quadrilateral. What is special about it?
Kite in a square
Nicely similar
If the hypotenuse (base) length is 100cm and if an extra line splits the base into 36cm and 64cm parts, what were the side lengths for the original right-angled triangle?