Resources tagged with: Investigations

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There are 204 NRICH Mathematical resources connected to Investigations, you may find related items under Thinking Mathematically.

Broad Topics > Thinking Mathematically > Investigations

Division Rules

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

This challenge encourages you to explore dividing a three-digit number by a single-digit number.

The Domesday Project

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Take a look at these data collected by children in 1986 as part of the Domesday Project. What do they tell you? What do you think about the way they are presented?

Olympic Rings

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

This problem is intended to get children to look really hard at something they will see many times in the next few months.

How Tall?

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

A group of children are discussing the height of a tall tree. How would you go about finding out its height?

So It's Times!

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level

How will you decide which way of flipping over and/or turning the grid will give you the highest total?

Track Design

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level

Where should runners start the 200m race so that they have all run the same distance by the finish?

Count the Digits

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

In this investigation we are going to count the number of 1s, 2s, 3s etc in numbers. Can you predict what will happen?

Shaping It

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

These pictures were made by starting with a square, finding the half-way point on each side and joining those points up. You could investigate your own starting shape.

The Car That Passes

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

What statements can you make about the car that passes the school gates at 11am on Monday? How will you come up with statements and test your ideas?

In the Playground

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

What can you say about the child who will be first on the playground tomorrow morning at breaktime in your school?

Ip Dip

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

"Ip dip sky blue! Who's 'it'? It's you!" Where would you position yourself so that you are 'it' if there are two players? Three players ...?

Triple Cubes

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

This challenge involves eight three-cube models made from interlocking cubes. Investigate different ways of putting the models together then compare your constructions.

Follow the Numbers

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

What happens when you add the digits of a number then multiply the result by 2 and you keep doing this? You could try for different numbers and different rules.

The Numbers Give the Design

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Make new patterns from simple turning instructions. You can have a go using pencil and paper or with a floor robot.

It Was 2010!

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

If the answer's 2010, what could the question be?

Escape from Planet Earth

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level

How fast would you have to throw a ball upwards so that it would never land?

Repeating Patterns

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

Try continuing these patterns made from triangles. Can you create your own repeating pattern?

Taking Trigonometry Series-ly

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level

Look at the advanced way of viewing sin and cos through their power series.

Scale Invariance

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level

By exploring the concept of scale invariance, find the probability that a random piece of real data begins with a 1.

Making More Tracks

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level

Given the equation for the path followed by the back wheel of a bike, can you solve to find the equation followed by the front wheel?

More Bridge Building

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level

Which parts of these framework bridges are in tension and which parts are in compression?

Very Old Man

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level

Is the age of this very old man statistically believable?

Caterpillars

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

These caterpillars have 16 parts. What different shapes do they make if each part lies in the small squares of a 4 by 4 square?

Turning

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

Use your mouse to move the red and green parts of this disc. Can you make images which show the turnings described?

2 Rings

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

The red ring is inside the blue ring in this picture. Can you rearrange the rings in different ways? Perhaps you can overlap them or put one outside another?

Sort the Street

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

Sort the houses in my street into different groups. Can you do it in any other ways?

Brush Loads

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

How can you arrange the 5 cubes so that you need the smallest number of Brush Loads of paint to cover them? Try with other numbers of cubes as well.

More Transformations on a Pegboard

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Use the interactivity to find all the different right-angled triangles you can make by just moving one corner of the starting triangle.

Spokes

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level

Draw three equal line segments in a unit circle to divide the circle into four parts of equal area.

Halving

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

These pictures show squares split into halves. Can you find other ways?

Which Twin Is Older?

Age 16 to 18

A simplified account of special relativity and the twins paradox.

Abundant Numbers

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

48 is called an abundant number because it is less than the sum of its factors (without itself). Can you find some more abundant numbers?

Egyptian Rope

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

The ancient Egyptians were said to make right-angled triangles using a rope with twelve equal sections divided by knots. What other triangles could you make if you had a rope like this?

Buying a Balloon

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Lolla bought a balloon at the circus. She gave the clown six coins to pay for it. What could Lolla have paid for the balloon?

Colouring Triangles

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

Explore ways of colouring this set of triangles. Can you make symmetrical patterns?

Five Coins

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level

Ben has five coins in his pocket. How much money might he have?

Let's Investigate Triangles

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level

Vincent and Tara are making triangles with the class construction set. They have a pile of strips of different lengths. How many different triangles can they make?

Making Cuboids

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Let's say you can only use two different lengths - 2 units and 4 units. Using just these 2 lengths as the edges how many different cuboids can you make?

Making Boxes

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Cut differently-sized square corners from a square piece of paper to make boxes without lids. Do they all have the same volume?

Sticky Triangles

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Can you continue this pattern of triangles and begin to predict how many sticks are used for each new "layer"?

Round and Round the Circle

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

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.

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?

Bracelets

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Investigate the different shaped bracelets you could make from 18 different spherical beads. How do they compare if you use 24 beads?

Doplication

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

We can arrange dots in a similar way to the 5 on a dice and they usually sit quite well into a rectangular shape. How many altogether in this 3 by 5? What happens for other sizes?

Roll These Dice

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Roll two red dice and a green dice. Add the two numbers on the red dice and take away the number on the green. What are all the different possible answers?

Pebbles

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

Place four pebbles on the sand in the form of a square. Keep adding as few pebbles as necessary to double the area. How many extra pebbles are added each time?

Cubes

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level

How many faces can you see when you arrange these three cubes in different ways?

Plants

Age 5 to 14
Challenge Level

Three children are going to buy some plants for their birthdays. They will plant them within circular paths. How could they do this?

Chocolate

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level

There are three tables in a room with blocks of chocolate on each. Where would be the best place for each child in the class to sit if they came in one at a time?

Consecutive Numbers

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level

An investigation involving adding and subtracting sets of consecutive numbers. Lots to find out, lots to explore.