Cubes and cuboids

There are 80 NRICH Mathematical resources connected to Cubes and cuboids
Icosian Game
problem

Icosian Game

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
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This problem is about investigating whether it is possible to start at one vertex of a platonic solid and visit every other vertex once only returning to the vertex you started at.

Marbles in a box
problem

Marbles in a box

Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
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How many winning lines can you make in a three-dimensional version of noughts and crosses?
Counting Triangles
problem

Counting Triangles

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
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Triangles are formed by joining the vertices of a skeletal cube. How many different types of triangle are there? How many triangles altogether?
Take Ten
problem

Take Ten

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
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Is it possible to remove ten unit cubes from a 3 by 3 by 3 cube so that the surface area of the remaining solid is the same as the surface area of the original?
Nine Colours
problem

Nine Colours

Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
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Can you use small coloured cubes to make a 3 by 3 by 3 cube so that each face of the bigger cube contains one of each colour?
Plutarch's Boxes
problem

Plutarch's Boxes

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
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According to Plutarch, the Greeks found all the rectangles with integer sides, whose areas are equal to their perimeters. Can you find them? What rectangular boxes, with integer sides, have their surface areas equal to their volumes?
How many dice?
problem

How many dice?

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
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A standard die has the numbers 1, 2 and 3 are opposite 6, 5 and 4 respectively so that opposite faces add to 7? If you make standard dice by writing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 on blank cubes you will find there are 2 and only 2 different standard dice. Can you prove this ?
Boxed In
problem

Boxed In

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
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A box has faces with areas 3, 12 and 25 square centimetres. What is the volume of the box?
Tic Tac Toe
problem

Tic Tac Toe

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
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In the game of Noughts and Crosses there are 8 distinct winning lines. How many distinct winning lines are there in a game played on a 3 by 3 by 3 board, with 27 cells?
Painting Cubes
problem

Painting Cubes

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
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Imagine you have six different colours of paint. You paint a cube using a different colour for each of the six faces. How many different cubes can be painted using the same set of six colours?