Other tags that relate to Shape Times Shape
Multiplication & division. Combinations. Visualising. Factors and multiples. Investigations. Working systematically. Addition & subtraction. Trial and improvement. Introducing algebra. Generalising.There are 84 results
Broad Topics > Thinking Mathematically > Trial and improvement
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?
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?
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?
Gift Stacks
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Use the information to work out how many gifts there are in each pile.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
One Million to Seven
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
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?
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?
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.
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?
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?
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?
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.
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).
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.
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?
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.
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?
The Puzzling Sweet Shop
Age 5 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?
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
Fifteen Cards
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Can you use the information to find out which cards I have used?
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.
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?
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?
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?
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.
Junior Frogs
Age 5 to 11 Challenge Level:
Have a go at this well-known challenge. Can you swap the frogs and toads in as few slides and jumps as possible?
Strike it Out for Two
Age 5 to 11 Challenge Level:
Strike it Out game for an adult and child. Can you stop your partner from being able to go?
Strike it Out
Age 5 to 11 Challenge Level:
Use your addition and subtraction skills, combined with some strategic thinking, to beat your partner at this game.
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?
Cinema Problem
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
A cinema has 100 seats. Show how it is possible to sell exactly 100 tickets and take exactly £100 if the prices are £10 for adults, 50p for pensioners and 10p for children.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Using the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 once and only once, and the operations x and ÷ once and only once, what is the smallest whole number you can make?
Charitable Pennies
Age 7 to 14 Challenge Level:
Investigate the different ways that fifteen schools could have given money in a charity fundraiser.
Number Sandwiches
Age 7 to 14 Challenge Level:
Can you arrange the digits 1, 1, 2, 2, 3 and 3 to make a Number Sandwich?
Domino Square
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Use the 'double-3 down' dominoes to make a square so that each side has eight dots.
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?
Cycling Squares
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Can you make a cycle of pairs that add to make a square number using all the numbers in the box below, once and once only?
Make 100
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷) to make these digits come to 100.
Magic Potting Sheds
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Mr McGregor has a magic potting shed. Overnight, the number of plants in it doubles. He'd like to put the same number of plants in each of three gardens, planting one garden each day. Can he do it?
Pizza Cut
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Using only six straight cuts, find a way to make as many pieces of pizza as possible. (The pieces can be different sizes and shapes).
Pair Sums
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Five numbers added together in pairs produce: 0, 2, 4, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15 What are the five numbers?
NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.