Creating and manipulating expressions and formulae

  • Series Sums
    problem

    Series sums

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
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    Let S1 = 1 , S2 = 2 + 3, S3 = 4 + 5 + 6 ,........ Calculate S17.
  • There and back
    problem

    There and back

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
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    Brian swims at twice the speed that a river is flowing, downstream from one moored boat to another and back again, taking 12 minutes altogether. How long would it have taken him in still water?
  • Quadratic Harmony
    problem

    Quadratic harmony

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Find all positive integers a and b for which the two equations: x^2-ax+b = 0 and x^2-bx+a = 0 both have positive integer solutions.
  • Mechanical Integration
    problem

    Mechanical integration

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    To find the integral of a polynomial, evaluate it at some special points and add multiples of these values.
  • W Mates
    problem

    W mates

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Show there are exactly 12 magic labellings of the Magic W using the numbers 1 to 9. Prove that for every labelling with a magic total T there is a corresponding labelling with a magic total 30-T.
  • Magic W
    problem

    Magic W

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
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    Find all the ways of placing the numbers 1 to 9 on a W shape, with 3 numbers on each leg, so that each set of 3 numbers has the same total.

  • Plum Tree
    problem

    Plum tree

    Age
    14 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Label this plum tree graph to make it totally magic!
  • Diverging
    problem

    Diverging

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Show that for natural numbers x and y if x/y > 1 then x/y>(x+1)/(y+1}>1. Hence prove that the product for i=1 to n of [(2i)/(2i-1)] tends to infinity as n tends to infinity.
  • Pair Squares
    problem

    Pair squares

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    The sum of any two of the numbers 2, 34 and 47 is a perfect square. Choose three square numbers and find sets of three integers with this property. Generalise to four integers.
  • Reciprocals
    problem

    Reciprocals

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Prove that the product of the sum of n positive numbers with the sum of their reciprocals is not less than n^2.