In how many ways can you fit two of these yellow triangles together? Can you predict the number of ways two blue triangles can be fitted together?
How many different cuboids can you make when you use four CDs or DVDs? How about using five, then six?
How many DIFFERENT quadrilaterals can be made by joining the dots on the 8-point circle?
How many different triangles can you make on a circular pegboard that has nine pegs?
Swap the stars with the moons, using only knights' moves (as on a chess board). What is the smallest number of moves possible?
A tetromino is made up of four squares joined edge to edge. Can this tetromino, together with 15 copies of itself, be used to cover an eight by eight chessboard?
Can you work out how many cubes were used to make this open box? What size of open box could you make if you had 112 cubes?
Take a rectangle of paper and fold it in half, and half again, to make four smaller rectangles. How many different ways can you fold it up?
What is the smallest cuboid that you can put in this box so that you cannot fit another that's the same into it?
Hover your mouse over the counters to see which ones will be removed. Click to remove them. The winner is the last one to remove a counter. How you can make sure you win?
How can you arrange these 10 matches in four piles so that when you move one match from three of the piles into the fourth, you end up with the same arrangement?
When I fold a 0-20 number line, I end up with 'stacks' of numbers on top of each other. These challenges involve varying the length of the number line and investigating the 'stack totals'.
What is the best way to shunt these carriages so that each train can continue its journey?
Can you shunt the trucks so that the Cattle truck and the Sheep truck change places and the Engine is back on the main line?
10 space travellers are waiting to board their spaceships. There are two rows of seats in the waiting room. Using the rules, where are they all sitting? Can you find all the possible ways?
This challenge involves eight three-cube models made from interlocking cubes. Investigate different ways of putting the models together then compare your constructions.
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?
Can you find ways of joining cubes together so that 28 faces are visible?
This task, written for the National Young Mathematicians' Award 2016, involves open-topped boxes made with interlocking cubes. Explore the number of units of paint that are needed to cover the boxes. . . .
A magician took a suit of thirteen cards and held them in his hand face down. Every card he revealed had the same value as the one he had just finished spelling. How did this work?
How will you go about finding all the jigsaw pieces that have one peg and one hole?
Design an arrangement of display boards in the school hall which fits the requirements of different people.
How many different ways can you find of fitting five hexagons together? How will you know you have found all the ways?
Looking at the picture of this Jomista Mat, can you decribe what you see? Why not try and make one yourself?
In each of the pictures the invitation is for you to: Count what you see. Identify how you think the pattern would continue.
You have 4 red and 5 blue counters. How many ways can they be placed on a 3 by 3 grid so that all the rows columns and diagonals have an even number of red counters?
What is the total area of the four outside triangles which are outlined in red in this arrangement of squares inside each other?
A toy has a regular tetrahedron, a cube and a base with triangular and square hollows. If you fit a shape into the correct hollow a bell rings. How many times does the bell ring in a complete game?
Exploring and predicting folding, cutting and punching holes and making spirals.
For this task, you'll need an A4 sheet and two A5 transparent sheets. Decide on a way of arranging the A5 sheets on top of the A4 sheet and explore ...
What is the greatest number of squares you can make by overlapping three squares?
Here you see the front and back views of a dodecahedron. Each vertex has been numbered so that the numbers around each pentagonal face add up to 65. Can you find all the missing numbers?
Paint a stripe on a cardboard roll. Can you predict what will happen when it is rolled across a sheet of paper?
Make a cube out of straws and have a go at this practical challenge.
Can you cut up a square in the way shown and make the pieces into a triangle?
What are the next three numbers in this sequence? Can you explain why are they called pyramid numbers?
Have a look at what happens when you pull a reef knot and a granny knot tight. Which do you think is best for securing things together? Why?
What happens to the area of a square if you double the length of the sides? Try the same thing with rectangles, diamonds and other shapes. How do the four smaller ones fit into the larger one?
Cut four triangles from a square as shown in the picture. How many different shapes can you make by fitting the four triangles back together?
What is the greatest number of counters you can place on the grid below without four of them lying at the corners of a square?
Investigate the number of paths you can take from one vertex to another in these 3D shapes. Is it possible to take an odd number and an even number of paths to the same vertex?
Can you visualise what shape this piece of paper will make when it is folded?
One face of a regular tetrahedron is painted blue and each of the remaining faces are painted using one of the colours red, green or yellow. How many different possibilities are there?
What shape has Harry drawn on this clock face? Can you find its area? What is the largest number of square tiles that could cover this area?
Make a flower design using the same shape made out of different sizes of paper.
Use the lines on this figure to show how the square can be divided into 2 halves, 3 thirds, 6 sixths and 9 ninths.
Can you work out what shape is made by folding in this way? Why not create some patterns using this shape but in different sizes?
This problem invites you to build 3D shapes using two different triangles. Can you make the shapes from the pictures?