Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Annie cut this numbered cake into 3 pieces with 3 cuts so that the numbers on each piece added to the same total. Where were the cuts and what fraction of the whole cake was each piece?
Using some or all of the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and using the digits 3, 3, 8 and 8 each once and only once make an expression equal to 24.
Twice a week I go swimming and swim the same number of lengths of the pool each time. As I swim, I count the lengths I've done so far, and make it into a fraction of the whole number of lengths I. . . .
Investigate the successive areas of light blue in these diagrams.
Use the fraction wall to compare the size of these fractions - you'll be amazed how it helps!
Whenever a monkey has peaches, he always keeps a fraction of them each day, gives the rest away, and then eats one. How long could he make his peaches last for?
An environment which simulates working with Cuisenaire rods.
The resources in this trail aim to enrich the experiences of children who are just being introduced to fractions.
There are some water lilies in a lake. The area that they cover doubles in size every day. After 17 days the whole lake is covered. How long did it take them to cover half the lake?
An interactive game to be played on your own or with friends. Imagine you are having a party. Each person takes it in turns to stand behind the chair where they will get the most chocolate.
The large rectangle is divided into a series of smaller quadrilaterals and triangles. Can you untangle what fractional part is represented by each of the ten numbered shapes?
Work out the fractions to match the cards with the same amount of money.
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?
At the beginning of the night three poker players; Alan, Bernie and Craig had money in the ratios 7 : 6 : 5. At the end of the night the ratio was 6 : 5 : 4. One of them won $1 200. What were the. . . .
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?
What is the total area of the first two triangles as a fraction of the original A4 rectangle? What is the total area of the first three triangles as a fraction of the original A4 rectangle? If. . . .
Pick two rods of different colours. Given an unlimited supply of rods of each of the two colours, how can we work out what fraction the shorter rod is of the longer one?
An activity based on the game 'Pelmanism'. Set your own level of challenge and beat your own previous best score.
Can you work out which drink has the stronger flavour?
This problem challenges you to work out what fraction of the whole area of these pictures is taken up by various shapes.
Consider the equation 1/a + 1/b + 1/c = 1 where a, b and c are natural numbers and 0 < a < b < c. Prove that there is only one set of values which satisfy this equation.
Use the lines on this figure to show how the square can be divided into 2 halves, 3 thirds, 6 sixths and 9 ninths.
Using the picture of the fraction wall, can you find equivalent fractions?
There are lots of ideas to explore in these sequences of ordered fractions.
In this problem, we have created a pattern from smaller and smaller squares. If we carried on the pattern forever, what proportion of the image would be coloured blue?
Take a look at the video and try to find a sequence of moves that will take you back to zero.
Can you see how to build a harmonic triangle? Can you work out the next two rows?
Can you find different ways of showing the same fraction? Try this matching game and see.
This article, written for primary teachers, links to rich tasks which will help develop the underlying concepts associated with fractions and offers some suggestions for models and images that help. . . .
A task which depends on members of the group noticing the needs of others and responding.
The Egyptians expressed all fractions as the sum of different unit fractions. The Greedy Algorithm might provide us with an efficient way of doing this.
Can all unit fractions be written as the sum of two unit fractions?
What fractions of the largest circle are the two shaded regions?
This article, written by Nicky Goulder and Samantha Lodge, reveals how maths and marimbas can go hand-in-hand! Why not try out some of the musical maths activities in your own classroom?
The Egyptians expressed all fractions as the sum of different unit fractions. Here is a chance to explore how they could have written different fractions.
At the corner of the cube circular arcs are drawn and the area enclosed shaded. What fraction of the surface area of the cube is shaded? Try working out the answer without recourse to pencil and. . . .
A personal investigation of Conway's Rational Tangles. What were the interesting questions that needed to be asked, and where did they lead?
Take a line segment of length 1. Remove the middle third. Remove the middle thirds of what you have left. Repeat infinitely many times, and you have the Cantor Set. Can you find its length?
Take a line segment of length 1. Remove the middle third. Remove the middle thirds of what you have left. Repeat infinitely many times, and you have the Cantor Set. Can you picture it?
How can you cut a doughnut into 8 equal pieces with only three cuts of a knife?
A Sudoku with clues as ratios or fractions.
Written for teachers, this article describes four basic approaches children use in understanding fractions as equal parts of a whole.
Can you tangle yourself up and reach any fraction?
Who first used fractions? Were they always written in the same way? How did fractions reach us here? These are the sorts of questions which this article will answer for you.
In a race the odds are: 2 to 1 against the rhinoceros winning and 3 to 2 against the hippopotamus winning. What are the odds against the elephant winning if the race is fair?
In a certain community two thirds of the adult men are married to three quarters of the adult women. How many adults would there be in the smallest community of this type?
According to Plutarch, the Greeks found all the rectangles with integer sides, whose areas are equal to their perimeters. Can you find them? What rectangular boxes, with integer sides, have. . . .
It would be nice to have a strategy for disentangling any tangled ropes...