Other tags that relate to Plutarch's Boxes
Inequalities. Volume and capacity. Fractions. Calculating with fractions. Visualising. Creating and manipulating expressions and formulae. Surface and surface area. Other equations. Cubes & cuboids. Diophantine equations.There are 124 results
Broad Topics > Algebraic expressions, equations and formulae > Creating and manipulating expressions and formulae
Boxed In
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
A box has faces with areas 3, 12 and 25 square centimetres. What is the volume of the box?
One and Three
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Two motorboats travelling up and down a lake at constant speeds leave opposite ends A and B at the same instant, passing each other, for the first time 600 metres from A, and on their return, 400. . . .
Fibs
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
The well known Fibonacci sequence is 1 ,1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21.... How many Fibonacci sequences can you find containing the number 196 as one of the terms?
Sum Equals Product
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
The sum of the numbers 4 and 1 [1/3] is the same as the product of 4 and 1 [1/3]; that is to say 4 + 1 [1/3] = 4 × 1 [1/3]. What other numbers have the sum equal to the product and can this be so for. . . .
Around and Back
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A cyclist and a runner start off simultaneously around a race track each going at a constant speed. The cyclist goes all the way around and then catches up with the runner. He then instantly turns. . . .
Lower Bound
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
What would you get if you continued this sequence of fraction sums? 1/2 + 2/1 = 2/3 + 3/2 = 3/4 + 4/3 =
Fair Shares?
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A mother wants to share a sum of money by giving each of her children in turn a lump sum plus a fraction of the remainder. How can she do this in order to share the money out equally?
Hallway Borders
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
What are the possible dimensions of a rectangular hallway if the number of tiles around the perimeter is exactly half the total number of tiles?
Marbles in a Box
Age 11 to 16 Challenge Level:
How many winning lines can you make in a three-dimensional version of noughts and crosses?
Painted Cube
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Imagine a large cube made from small red cubes being dropped into a pot of yellow paint. How many of the small cubes will have yellow paint on their faces?
Three Four Five
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Two semi-circles (each of radius 1/2) touch each other, and a semi-circle of radius 1 touches both of them. Find the radius of the circle which touches all three semi-circles.
Triangles Within Pentagons
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Show that all pentagonal numbers are one third of a triangular number.
Archimedes and Numerical Roots
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
The problem is how did Archimedes calculate the lengths of the sides of the polygons which needed him to be able to calculate square roots?
Triangles Within Squares
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Can you find a rule which relates triangular numbers to square numbers?
Mediant Madness
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Kyle and his teacher disagree about his test score - who is right?
Triangles Within Triangles
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Can you find a rule which connects consecutive triangular numbers?
Balance Point
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Attach weights of 1, 2, 4, and 8 units to the four attachment points on the bar. Move the bar from side to side until you find a balance point. Is it possible to predict that position?
How Big?
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
If the sides of the triangle in the diagram are 3, 4 and 5, what is the area of the shaded square?
Special Sums and Products
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
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.
Cubes Within Cubes Revisited
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Imagine starting with one yellow cube and covering it all over with a single layer of red cubes, and then covering that cube with a layer of blue cubes. How many red and blue cubes would you need?
Steel Cables
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Some students have been working out the number of strands needed for different sizes of cable. Can you make sense of their solutions?
Hand Swap
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
My train left London between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and arrived in Paris between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. At the start and end of the journey the hands on my watch were in exactly the same positions but the. . . .
Hike and Hitch
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Fifteen students had to travel 60 miles. They could use a car, which could only carry 5 students. As the car left with the first 5 (at 40 miles per hour), the remaining 10 commenced hiking along the. . . .
Christmas Chocolates
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
How could Penny, Tom and Matthew work out how many chocolates there are in different sized boxes?
Partly Painted Cube
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Jo made a cube from some smaller cubes, painted some of the faces of the large cube, and then took it apart again. 45 small cubes had no paint on them at all. How many small cubes did Jo use?
Seven Squares
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Watch these videos to see how Phoebe, Alice and Luke chose to draw 7 squares. How would they draw 100?
Top-heavy Pyramids
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Use the numbers in the box below to make the base of a top-heavy pyramid whose top number is 200.
The Pillar of Chios
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Semicircles are drawn on the sides of a rectangle. Prove that the sum of the areas of the four crescents is equal to the area of the rectangle.
Number Pyramids
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Try entering different sets of numbers in the number pyramids. How does the total at the top change?
Pair Products
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Choose four consecutive whole numbers. Multiply the first and last numbers together. Multiply the middle pair together. What do you notice?
Attractive Tablecloths
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Charlie likes tablecloths that use as many colours as possible, but insists that his tablecloths have some symmetry. Can you work out how many colours he needs for different tablecloth designs?
Terminology
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Given an equilateral triangle inside an isosceles triangle, can you find a relationship between the angles?
Pick's Theorem
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Polygons drawn on square dotty paper have dots on their perimeter (p) and often internal (i) ones as well. Find a relationship between p, i and the area of the polygons.
Multiplication Square
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Pick a square within a multiplication square and add the numbers on each diagonal. What do you notice?
Perfectly Square
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
The sums of the squares of three related numbers is also a perfect square - can you explain why?
Sitting Pretty
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
A circle of radius r touches two sides of a right angled triangle, sides x and y, and has its centre on the hypotenuse. Can you prove the formula linking x, y and r?
Unit Interval
Age 14 to 18 Challenge Level:
Take any two numbers between 0 and 1. Prove that the sum of the numbers is always less than one plus their product?
Chocolate Maths
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Pick the number of times a week that you eat chocolate. This number must be more than one but less than ten. Multiply this number by 2. Add 5 (for Sunday). Multiply by 50... Can you explain why it. . . .
More Number Pyramids
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
When number pyramids have a sequence on the bottom layer, some interesting patterns emerge...
Gutter
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Manufacturers need to minimise the amount of material used to make their product. What is the best cross-section for a gutter?
Your Number Is...
Age 7 to 14 Challenge Level:
Think of a number and follow the machine's instructions... I know what your number is! Can you explain how I know?
Mind Reading
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Think of a number, add one, double it, take away 3, add the number you first thought of, add 7, divide by 3 and take away the number you first thought of. You should now be left with 2. How do I. . . .
The Number Jumbler
Age 7 to 14 Challenge Level:
The Number Jumbler can always work out your chosen symbol. Can you work out how?
Always a Multiple?
Age 11 to 14 Challenge Level:
Think of a two digit number, reverse the digits, and add the numbers together. Something special happens...
Generating Triples
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Sets of integers like 3, 4, 5 are called Pythagorean Triples, because they could be the lengths of the sides of a right-angled triangle. Can you find any more?
Training Schedule
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
The heptathlon is an athletics competition consisting of 7 events. Can you make sense of the scoring system in order to advise a heptathlete on the best way to reach her target?
Robert's Spreadsheet
Age 14 to 16 Challenge Level:
Robert noticed some interesting patterns when he highlighted square numbers in a spreadsheet. Can you prove that the patterns will continue?
Simplifying Doughnut
Age 14 to 18 Challenge Level:
An algebra task which depends on members of the group noticing the needs of others and responding.
NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.