Other tags that relate to Mrs Trimmer's String
Practical Activity. Working systematically. Factors and multiples. Investigations. Interactivities. Addition & subtraction. 2D shapes and their properties. Odd and even numbers. Regular polygons and circles. Multiplication & division.There are 320 results
Broad Topics > Mathematical Thinking > Working systematically
Shaping Up
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Are all the possible combinations of two shapes included in this set of 27 cards? How do you know?
Count the Trapeziums
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
How many trapeziums, of various sizes, are hidden in this picture?
Encouraging Primary Children to Work Systematically
Age 3 to 11
This article for primary teachers suggests ways in which to help children become better at working systematically.
Elf Suits
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
If these elves wear a different outfit every day for as many days as possible, how many days can their fun last?
The School Trip
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Lorenzie was packing his bag for a school trip. He packed four shirts and three pairs of pants. "I will be able to have a different outfit each day", he said. How many days will Lorenzie be away?
Calendar Cubes
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Make a pair of cubes that can be moved to show all the days of the month from the 1st to the 31st.
Finding All Possibilities Upper Primary
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
These activities focus on finding all possible solutions so working in a systematic way will ensure none are left out.
Bunny Hop
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
What is the smallest number of jumps needed before the white rabbits and the grey rabbits can continue along their path?
Seven Flipped
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Investigate the smallest number of moves it takes to turn these mats upside-down if you can only turn exactly three at a time.
Possible Pieces
Age 5 to 11 Challenge Level:
Can you create jigsaw pieces which are based on a square shape, with at least one peg and one hole?
Jumping Cricket
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
El Crico the cricket has to cross a square patio to get home. He can jump the length of one tile, two tiles and three tiles. Can you find a path that would get El Crico home in three jumps?
Mixed-up Socks
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Start with three pairs of socks. Now mix them up so that no mismatched pair is the same as another mismatched pair. Is there more than one way to do it?
Unit Differences
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
This challenge is about finding the difference between numbers which have the same tens digit.
Team Scream
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Seven friends went to a fun fair with lots of scary rides. They decided to pair up for rides until each friend had ridden once with each of the others. What was the total number rides?
Whose Face?
Age 5 to 11 Challenge Level:
These are the faces of Will, Lil, Bill, Phil and Jill. Use the clues to work out which name goes with each face.
Finding All Possibilities Upper Primary
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
These activities focus on finding all possible solutions so if you work in a systematic way, you won't leave any out.
Ordered Ways of Working Upper Primary
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
These activities lend themselves to systematic working in the sense that it helps if you have an ordered approach.
Sweets in a Box
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
How many different shaped boxes can you design for 36 sweets in one layer? Can you arrange the sweets so that no sweets of the same colour are next to each other in any direction?
Fake Gold
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
A merchant brings four bars of gold to a jeweller. How can the jeweller use the scales just twice to identify the lighter, fake bar?
A Child Is Full of ...
Age 7 to 11 Short Challenge Level:
My cousin was 24 years old on Friday April 5th in 1974. On what day of the week was she born?
Home City
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Use the clues to work out which cities Mohamed, Sheng, Tanya and Bharat live in.
Button-up
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
My coat has three buttons. How many ways can you find to do up all the buttons?
Professional Circles
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Six friends sat around a circular table. Can you work out from the information who sat where and what their profession were?
Red Express Train
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
The Red Express Train usually has five red carriages. How many ways can you find to add two blue carriages?
Crack the Code
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
The Zargoes use almost the same alphabet as English. What does this birthday message say?
Pasta Timing
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Nina must cook some pasta for 15 minutes but she only has a 7-minute sand-timer and an 11-minute sand-timer. How can she use these timers to measure exactly 15 minutes?
Ancient Runes
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
The Vikings communicated in writing by making simple scratches on wood or stones called runes. Can you work out how their code works using the table of the alphabet?
This Pied Piper of Hamelin
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Investigate the different numbers of people and rats there could have been if you know how many legs there are altogether!
Ladybirds in the Garden
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
In Sam and Jill's garden there are two sorts of ladybirds with 7 spots or 4 spots. What numbers of total spots can you make?
Lots of Lollies
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Frances and Rishi were given a bag of lollies. They shared them out evenly and had one left over. How many lollies could there have been in the bag?
Family Tree
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Use the clues to find out who's who in the family, to fill in the family tree and to find out which of the family members are mathematicians and which are not.
What Shape and Colour?
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Can you fill in the empty boxes in the grid with the right shape and colour?
Ordered Ways of Working Upper Primary
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
These activities lend themselves to systematic working in the sense that it helps to have an ordered approach.
Briefcase Lock
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
My briefcase has a three-number combination lock, but I have forgotten the combination. I remember that there's a 3, a 5 and an 8. How many possible combinations are there to try?
Wag Worms
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
When intergalactic Wag Worms are born they look just like a cube. Each year they grow another cube in any direction. Find all the shapes that five-year-old Wag Worms can be.
Nineteen Hexagons
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
In this maze of hexagons, you start in the centre at 0. The next hexagon must be a multiple of 2 and the next a multiple of 5. What are the possible paths you could take?
Seating Arrangements
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Sitting around a table are three girls and three boys. Use the clues to work out were each person is sitting.
One of Thirty-six
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Can you find the chosen number from the grid using the clues?
How Many Times?
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
On a digital 24 hour clock, at certain times, all the digits are consecutive. How many times like this are there between midnight and 7 a.m.?
Sums and Differences 2
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Find the sum and difference between a pair of two-digit numbers. Now find the sum and difference between the sum and difference! What happens?
Room Doubling
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Investigate the different ways you could split up these rooms so that you have double the number.
Are You Well Balanced?
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Can you work out how to balance this equaliser? You can put more than one weight on a hook.
Two Dice
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
Find all the numbers that can be made by adding the dots on two dice.
Dienes' Logiblocs
Age 5 to 7 Challenge Level:
This problem focuses on Dienes' Logiblocs. What is the same and what is different about these pairs of shapes? Can you describe the shapes in the picture?
Chocs, Mints, Jellies
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
In a bowl there are 4 Chocolates, 3 Jellies and 5 Mints. Find a way to share the sweets between the three children so they each get the kind they like. Is there more than one way to do it?
Cover the Tray
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
These practical challenges are all about making a 'tray' and covering it with paper.
Magic Vs
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Can you put the numbers 1-5 in the V shape so that both 'arms' have the same total?
Two Egg Timers
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
You have two egg timers. One takes 4 minutes exactly to empty and the other takes 7 minutes. What times in whole minutes can you measure and how?
It Figures
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
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?
Eight Queens
Age 7 to 11 Challenge Level:
Place eight queens on an chessboard (an 8 by 8 grid) so that none can capture any of the others.
NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.