I added together some of my neighbours' house numbers. Can you explain the patterns I noticed?
15 = 7 + 8 and 10 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4. Can you say which numbers can be expressed as the sum of two or more consecutive integers?
In this problem we are looking at sets of parallel sticks that cross each other. What is the least number of crossings you can make? And the greatest?
Are these statements always true, sometimes true or never true?
Choose any 3 digits and make a 6 digit number by repeating the 3 digits in the same order (e.g. 594594). Explain why whatever digits you choose the number will always be divisible by 7, 11 and 13.
Great Granddad is very proud of his telegram from the Queen congratulating him on his hundredth birthday and he has friends who are even older than he is... When was he born?
Explore the relationship between simple linear functions and their graphs.
Gabriel multiplied together some numbers and then erased them. Can you figure out where each number was?
Investigate the sum of the numbers on the top and bottom faces of a line of three dice. What do you notice?
Look at three 'next door neighbours' amongst the counting numbers. Add them together. What do you notice?
Can you explain the strategy for winning this game with any target?
Got It game for an adult and child. How can you play so that you know you will always win?
Make a set of numbers that use all the digits from 1 to 9, once and once only. Add them up. The result is divisible by 9. Add each of the digits in the new number. What is their sum? Now try some. . . .
Ben’s class were cutting up number tracks. First they cut them into twos and added up the numbers on each piece. What patterns could they see?
What happens if you join every second point on this circle? How about every third point? Try with different steps and see if you can predict what will happen.
Investigate the smallest number of moves it takes to turn these mats upside-down if you can only turn exactly three at a time.
Is there an efficient way to work out how many factors a large number has?
Think of any three-digit number. Repeat the digits. The 6-digit number that you end up with is divisible by 91. Is this a coincidence?
Three people chose this as a favourite problem. It is the sort of problem that needs thinking time - but once the connection is made it gives access to many similar ideas.
I added together the first 'n' positive integers and found that my answer was a 3 digit number in which all the digits were the same...
Find some triples of whole numbers a, b and c such that a^2 + b^2 + c^2 is a multiple of 4. Is it necessarily the case that a, b and c must all be even? If so, can you explain why?
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?
Can you find a way to identify times tables after they have been shifted up or down?
A game for two people, or play online. Given a target number, say 23, and a range of numbers to choose from, say 1-4, players take it in turns to add to the running total to hit their target.
These red, yellow and blue spinners were each spun 45 times in total. Can you work out which numbers are on each spinner?
An investigation that gives you the opportunity to make and justify predictions.
The puzzle can be solved by finding the values of the unknown digits (all indicated by asterisks) in the squares of the $9\times9$ grid.
Is it possible to draw a 5-pointed star without taking your pencil off the paper? Is it possible to draw a 6-pointed star in the same way without taking your pen off?
In this activity, the computer chooses a times table and shifts it. Can you work out the table and the shift each time?
Does this 'trick' for calculating multiples of 11 always work? Why or why not?
Can you order the digits from 1-3 to make a number which is divisible by 3 so when the last digit is removed it becomes a 2-figure number divisible by 2, and so on?
Imagine we have four bags containing a large number of 1s, 4s, 7s and 10s. What numbers can we make?
Imagine we have four bags containing numbers from a sequence. What numbers can we make now?
How many different sets of numbers with at least four members can you find in the numbers in this box?
Four of these clues are needed to find the chosen number on this grid and four are true but do nothing to help in finding the number. Can you sort out the clues and find the number?
A three digit number abc is always divisible by 7 when 2a+3b+c is divisible by 7. Why?
List any 3 numbers. It is always possible to find a subset of adjacent numbers that add up to a multiple of 3. Can you explain why and prove it?
Find some examples of pairs of numbers such that their sum is a factor of their product. eg. 4 + 12 = 16 and 4 × 12 = 48 and 16 is a factor of 48.
There are ten children in Becky's group. Can you find a set of numbers for each of them? Are there any other sets?
Using the digits 1 to 9, the number 4396 can be written as the product of two numbers. Can you find the factors?
A student in a maths class was trying to get some information from her teacher. She was given some clues and then the teacher ended by saying, "Well, how old are they?"
A and B are two interlocking cogwheels having p teeth and q teeth respectively. One tooth on B is painted red. Find the values of p and q for which the red tooth on B contacts every gap on the. . . .
You are given the Lowest Common Multiples of sets of digits. Find the digits and then solve the Sudoku.
Can you work out how many lengths I swim each day?
In a square in which the houses are evenly spaced, numbers 3 and 10 are opposite each other. What is the smallest and what is the largest possible number of houses in the square?
A game for 2 or more people. Starting with 100, subratct a number from 1 to 9 from the total. You score for making an odd number, a number ending in 0 or a multiple of 6.
Can you find any perfect numbers? Read this article to find out more...
Nine squares are fitted together to form a rectangle. Can you find its dimensions?
Play this game and see if you can figure out the computer's chosen number.
This article for teachers describes how number arrays can be a useful representation for many number concepts.