Other tags that relate to Number Squares
Addition & subtraction. Multiplication & division. Describing Sequences. Generalising. Working systematically. Investigations. Trial and improvement. Practical Activity. Combinations. Factors and multiples.There are 84 results
Broad Topics > Mathematical Thinking > Trial and improvement
What's in a Name?
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
What do you notice about these squares of numbers? What is the same? What is different?
Number Juggle
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Fill in the missing numbers so that adding each pair of corner numbers gives you the number between them (in the box).
The Brown Family
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Use the information about Sally and her brother to find out how many children there are in the Brown family.
One Wasn't Square
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Mrs Morgan, the class's teacher, pinned numbers onto the backs of three children. Use the information to find out what the three numbers were.
Buckets of Thinking
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
There are three buckets each of which holds a maximum of 5 litres. Use the clues to work out how much liquid there is in each bucket.
Amazing Alphabet Maze
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Can you go from A to Z right through the alphabet in the hexagonal maze?
Magic Circles
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Put the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 into the squares so that the numbers on each circle add up to the same amount. Can you find the rule for giving another set of six numbers?
Sisters and Brothers
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Cassandra, David and Lachlan are brothers and sisters. They range in age between 1 year and 14 years. Can you figure out their exact ages from the clues?
Gift Stacks
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Use the information to work out how many gifts there are in each pile.
Magic Triangle
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Place the digits 1 to 9 into the circles so that each side of the triangle adds to the same total.
A Shapely Network
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Your challenge is to find the longest way through the network following this rule. You can start and finish anywhere, and with any shape, as long as you follow the correct order.
Starfish Spotting
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
How many starfish could there be on the beach, and how many children, if I can see 28 arms?
Arranging the Tables
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
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.
Numbered Cars
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
I was looking at the number plate of a car parked outside. Using my special code S208VBJ adds to 65. Can you crack my code and use it to find out what both of these number plates add up to?
Sticky Dice
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Throughout these challenges, the touching faces of any adjacent dice must have the same number. Can you find a way of making the total on the top come to each number from 11 to 18 inclusive?
Dice Stairs
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Can you make dice stairs using the rules stated? How do you know you have all the possible stairs?
Number Round Up
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Arrange the numbers 1 to 6 in each set of circles below. The sum of each side of the triangle should equal the number in its centre.
Fractions in a Box
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
The discs for this game are kept in a flat square box with a square hole for each. Use the information to find out how many discs of each colour there are in the box.
A Numbered Route
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Can you draw a continuous line through 16 numbers on this grid so that the total of the numbers you pass through is as high as possible?
Four Colours
Age 5 to 11 Challenge Level:
Kate has eight multilink cubes. She has two red ones, two yellow, two green and two blue. She wants to fit them together to make a cube so that each colour shows on each face just once.
Oranges and Lemons
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
On the table there is a pile of oranges and lemons that weighs exactly one kilogram. Using the information, can you work out how many lemons there are?
Twenty Divided Into Six
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
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?
How Many Eggs?
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Peter, Melanie, Amil and Jack received a total of 38 chocolate eggs. Use the information to work out how many eggs each person had.
Cat Food
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Sam sets up displays of cat food in his shop in triangular stacks. If Felix buys some, then how can Sam arrange the remaining cans in triangular stacks?
Big Dog, Little Dog
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Woof is a big dog. Yap is a little dog. Emma has 16 dog biscuits to give to the two dogs. She gave Woof 4 more biscuits than Yap. How many biscuits did each dog get?
The Puzzling Sweet Shop
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
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?
Domino Join Up
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Can you arrange fifteen dominoes so that all the touching domino pieces add to 6 and the ends join up? Can you make all the joins add to 7?
Rabbits in the Pen
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Using the statements, can you work out how many of each type of rabbit there are in these pens?
Rocco's Race
Age 7 to 11 Short Challenge Level:
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.
Magic Matrix
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Find out why these matrices are magic. Can you work out how they were made? Can you make your own Magic Matrix?
Let's Face It
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
In this problem you have to place four by four magic squares on the faces of a cube so that along each edge of the cube the numbers match.
Prison Cells
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
There are 78 prisoners in a square cell block of twelve cells. The clever prison warder arranged them so there were 25 along each wall of the prison block. How did he do it?
The Clockmaker's Birthday Cake
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
The clockmaker's wife cut up his birthday cake to look like a clock face. Can you work out who received each piece?
Zios and Zepts
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
On the planet Vuv there are two sorts of creatures. The Zios have 3 legs and the Zepts have 7 legs. The great planetary explorer Nico counted 52 legs. How many Zios and how many Zepts were there?
Sliding Game
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
A shunting puzzle for 1 person. Swop the positions of the counters at the top and bottom of the board.
Find the Difference
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Place the numbers 1 to 6 in the circles so that each number is the difference between the two numbers just below it.
Four-digit Targets
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
You have two sets of the digits 0 – 9. Can you arrange these in the five boxes to make four-digit numbers as close to the target numbers as possible?
Two-digit Targets
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
You have a set of the digits from 0 – 9. Can you arrange these in the five boxes to make two-digit numbers as close to the targets as possible?
Find a Path
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Can you find a path from a number at the top of this network to the bottom which goes through each number from 1 to 9 once and once only?
Chain of Changes
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Arrange the shapes in a line so that you change either colour or shape in the next piece along. Can you find several ways to start with a blue triangle and end with a red circle?
Plenty of Pens
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Amy's mum had given her £2.50 to spend. She bought four times as many pens as pencils and was given 40p change. How many of each did she buy?
Fitted
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Nine squares with side lengths 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, and 18 cm can be fitted together to form a rectangle. What are the dimensions of the rectangle?
Augustus' Age
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
In 1871 a mathematician called Augustus De Morgan died. De Morgan made a puzzling statement about his age. Can you discover which year De Morgan was born in?
Paw Prints
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
A dog is looking for a good place to bury his bone. Can you work out where he started and ended in each case? What possible routes could he have taken?
Area and Perimeter
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
What can you say about these shapes? This problem challenges you to create shapes with different areas and perimeters.
Jumping Squares
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
In this problem it is not the squares that jump, you do the jumping! The idea is to go round the track in as few jumps as possible.
Difference
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Place the numbers 1 to 10 in the circles so that each number is the difference between the two numbers just below it.
Escape from the Castle
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
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?
Fifteen Cards
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Can you use the information to find out which cards I have used?
Special 24
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Find another number that is one short of a square number and when you double it and add 1, the result is also a square number.
NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.