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There are 46 NRICH Mathematical resources connected to Long problems, you may find related items under Admin.
Broad Topics > Admin > Long problemsA plastic funnel is used to pour liquids through narrow apertures. What shape funnel would use the least amount of plastic to manufacture for any specific volume ?
An aluminium can contains 330 ml of cola. If the can's diameter is 6 cm what is the can's height?
If a sum invested gains 10% each year how long before it has doubled its value?
The scale on a piano does something clever : the ratio (interval) between any adjacent points on the scale is equal. If you play any note, twelve points higher will be exactly an octave on.
Semi-regular tessellations combine two or more different regular polygons to fill the plane. Can you find all the semi-regular tessellations?
Can you find the percentage increase if the results appear in code?
After transferring balls back and forth between two bags the probability of selecting a green ball from bag 2 is 3/5. How many green balls were in bag 2 at the outset?
Show that the edges $AD$ and $BC$ of a tetrahedron $ABCD$ are mutually perpendicular if and only if $AB^2 +CD^2 = AC^2+BD^2$. This problem uses the scalar product of two vectors.
There are many different methods to solve this geometrical problem - how many can you find?
In a right-angled tetrahedron prove that the sum of the squares of the areas of the 3 faces in mutually perpendicular planes equals the square of the area of the sloping face. A generalisation of Pythagoras' Theorem.
Evaluate these powers of 67. What do you notice? Can you convince someone what the answer would be to (a million sixes followed by a 7) squared?
The symbol [ ] means 'the integer part of'. Can the numbers [2x]; 2[x]; [x + 1/2] + [x - 1/2] ever be equal? Can they ever take three different values?
Ten squares form regular rings either with adjacent or opposite vertices touching. Calculate the inner and outer radii of the rings that surround the squares.
Find $S_r = 1^r + 2^r + 3^r + ... + n^r$ where r is any fixed positive integer in terms of $S_1, S_2, ... S_{r-1}$.
In the limit you get the sum of an infinite geometric series. What about an infinite product (1+x)(1+x^2)(1+x^4)... ?
What information helped medical pioneers decide on the cause of a disease? Especially in a time before microscopes were as powerful as they are today ?
Swimmers in opposite directions cross at 20m and at 30m from each end of a swimming pool. How long is the pool ?
It's like 'Peaches Today, Peaches Tomorrow' but interestingly generalized.
However did we manage before calculators? Is there an efficient way to do a square root if you have to do the work yourself?
Two perpendicular lines lie across each other and the end points are joined to form a quadrilateral. Eight ratios are defined, three are given but five need to be found.
The Earth is further from the Sun than Venus, but how much further? Twice as far? Ten times?
Using an understanding that 1:2 and 2:3 were good ratios, start with a length and keep reducing it to 2/3 of itself. Each time that took the length under 1/2 they doubled it to get back within range.
The Pythagoreans noticed that nice simple ratios of string length made nice sounds together.
Move the point P to see how P' moves. Then use your insights to calculate a missing length.
If I print this page which shape will require the more yellow ink?
We use statistics to give ourselves an informed view on a subject of interest. This problem explores how to scale countries on a map to represent characteristics other than land area.
What angle is needed for a ball to do a circuit of the billiard table and then pass through its original position?
What's the most efficient proportion for a 1 litre tin of paint?
Can you work out the height of Baby Bear's chair and whose bed is whose if all the things the three bears have are in the same proportions?
An irregular tetrahedron is composed of four different triangles. Can such a tetrahedron be constructed where the side lengths are 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 units of length?
Find the sides of an equilateral triangle ABC where a trapezium BCPQ is drawn with BP=CQ=2 , PQ=1 and AP+AQ=sqrt7 . Note: there are 2 possible interpretations.
Use the fact that: x²-y² = (x-y)(x+y) and x³+y³ = (x+y) (x²-xy+y²) to find the highest power of 2 and the highest power of 3 which divide 5^{36}-1.
Prove that for every right angled triangle which has sides with integer lengths: (1) the area of the triangle is even and (2) the length of one of the sides is divisible by 5.
Evaluate without a calculator: (5 sqrt2 + 7)^{1/3} - (5 sqrt2 - 7)^1/3}.
Draw any triangle PQR. Find points A, B and C, one on each side of the triangle, such that the area of triangle ABC is a given fraction of the area of triangle PQR.
Show that there are infinitely many rational points on the unit circle and no rational points on the circle x^2+y^2=3.
Given a regular pentagon, can you find the distance between two non-adjacent vertices?
A bag contains red and blue balls. You are told the probabilities of drawing certain combinations of balls. Find how many red and how many blue balls there are in the bag.
Equal touching circles have centres on a line. From a point of this line on a circle, a tangent is drawn to the farthest circle. Find the lengths of chords where the line cuts the other circles.
What are the shortest distances between the centres of opposite faces of a regular solid dodecahedron on the surface and through the middle of the dodecahedron?
Solve an equation involving the Golden Ratio phi where the unknown occurs as a power of phi.
The familiar Pythagorean 3-4-5 triple gives one solution to (x-1)^n + x^n = (x+1)^n so what about other solutions for x an integer and n= 2, 3, 4 or 5?
Find the shape and symmetries of the two pieces of this cut cube.
If x, y and z are real numbers such that: x + y + z = 5 and xy + yz + zx = 3. What is the largest value that any of the numbers can have?