Claire thinks she has the most sports cards in her album. "I have 12 pages with 2 cards on each page", says Claire. Ross counts his cards. "No! I have 3 cards on each of my pages and there are. . . .
There were 22 legs creeping across the web. How many flies? How many spiders?
Can you see why 2 by 2 could be 5? Can you predict what 2 by 10 will be?
Zumf makes spectacles for the residents of the planet Zargon, who have either 3 eyes or 4 eyes. How many lenses will Zumf need to make all the different orders for 9 families?
This problem is based on a code using two different prime numbers less than 10. You'll need to multiply them together and shift the alphabet forwards by the result. Can you decipher the code?
Find out what a Deca Tree is and then work out how many leaves there will be after the woodcutter has cut off a trunk, a branch, a twig and a leaf.
Try adding together the dates of all the days in one week. Now multiply the first date by 7 and add 21. Can you explain what happens?
Katie had a pack of 20 cards numbered from 1 to 20. She arranged the cards into 6 unequal piles where each pile added to the same total. What was the total and how could this be done?
This magic square has operations written in it, to make it into a maze. Start wherever you like, go through every cell and go out a total of 15!
This problem is based on the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Investigate the different numbers of people and rats there could have been if you know how many legs there are altogether!
Number problems at primary level that require careful consideration.
What do you notice about the date 03.06.09? Or 08.01.09? This challenge invites you to investigate some interesting dates yourself.
Can you find which shapes you need to put into the grid to make the totals at the end of each row and the bottom of each column?
Using the statements, can you work out how many of each type of rabbit there are in these pens?
A game for 2 people. Use your skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to blast the asteroids.
The Scot, John Napier, invented these strips about 400 years ago to help calculate multiplication and division. Can you work out how to use Napier's bones to find the answer to these multiplications?
Use your logical-thinking skills to deduce how much Dan's crisps and ice-cream cost altogether.
There are 44 people coming to a dinner party. There are 15 square tables that seat 4 people. Find a way to seat the 44 people using all 15 tables, with no empty places.
Can you arrange 5 different digits (from 0 - 9) in the cross in the way described?
In a Magic Square all the rows, columns and diagonals add to the 'Magic Constant'. How would you change the magic constant of this square?
The clockmaker's wife cut up his birthday cake to look like a clock face. Can you work out who received each piece?
We can arrange dots in a similar way to the 5 on a dice and they usually sit quite well into a rectangular shape. How many altogether in this 3 by 5? What happens for other sizes?
Cherri, Saxon, Mel and Paul are friends. They are all different ages. Can you find out the age of each friend using the information?
There were chews for 2p, mini eggs for 3p, Chocko bars for 5p and lollypops for 7p in the sweet shop. What could each of the children buy with their money?
A group of children are using measuring cylinders but they lose the labels. Can you help relabel them?
There are over sixty different ways of making 24 by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing all four numbers 4, 6, 6 and 8 (using each number only once). How many can you find?
If you had any number of ordinary dice, what are the possible ways of making their totals 6? What would the product of the dice be each time?
Go through the maze, collecting and losing your money as you go. Which route gives you the highest return? And the lowest?
Twizzle, a female giraffe, needs transporting to another zoo. Which route will give the fastest journey?
A game for 2 or more players with a pack of cards. Practise your skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to hit the target score.
Use the information about Sally and her brother to find out how many children there are in the Brown family.
Put a number at the top of the machine and collect a number at the bottom. What do you get? Which numbers get back to themselves?
Start by putting one million (1 000 000) into the display of your calculator. Can you reduce this to 7 using just the 7 key and add, subtract, multiply, divide and equals as many times as you like?
Suppose we allow ourselves to use three numbers less than 10 and multiply them together. How many different products can you find? How do you know you've got them all?
Here is a chance to play a version of the classic Countdown Game.
Skippy and Anna are locked in a room in a large castle. The key to that room, and all the other rooms, is a number. The numbers are locked away in a problem. Can you help them to get out?
Four Go game for an adult and child. Will you be the first to have four numbers in a row on the number line?
Shut the Box game for an adult and child. Can you turn over the cards which match the numbers on the dice?
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?
Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many sheep there are in each field.
This number has 903 digits. What is the sum of all 903 digits?
Number problems at primary level that may require resilience.
If the numbers 5, 7 and 4 go into this function machine, what numbers will come out?
Here are the prices for 1st and 2nd class mail within the UK. You have an unlimited number of each of these stamps. Which stamps would you need to post a parcel weighing 825g?
Rocco ran in a 200 m race for his class. Use the information to find out how many runners there were in the race and what Rocco's finishing position was.