Explaining, convincing and proving

  • Areas and Ratios
    problem
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    Areas and Ratios

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Do you have enough information to work out the area of the shaded quadrilateral?

  • Orthogonal Circle
    problem
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    Orthogonal Circle

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Given any three non intersecting circles in the plane find another circle or straight line which cuts all three circles orthogonally.

  • Eyes Down
    problem
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    Eyes Down

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    The symbol [ ] means 'the integer part of'. Can the numbers [2x]; 2[x]; [x + 1/2] + [x - 1/2] ever be equal? Can they ever take three different values?
  • Tetra Perp
    problem
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    Tetra Perp

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Show that the edges $AD$ and $BC$ of a tetrahedron $ABCD$ are mutually perpendicular if and only if $AB^2 +CD^2 = AC^2+BD^2$. This problem uses the scalar product of two vectors.

  • Cubestick
    problem
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    Cubestick

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Stick some cubes together to make a cuboid. Find two of the angles by as many different methods as you can devise.

  • Pythagoras for a Tetrahedron
    problem
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    Pythagoras for a Tetrahedron

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    In a right-angled tetrahedron prove that the sum of the squares of the areas of the 3 faces in mutually perpendicular planes equals the square of the area of the sloping face. A generalisation of Pythagoras' Theorem.

  • Fixing It
    problem

    Fixing It

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    A and B are two fixed points on a circle and RS is a variable diamater. What is the locus of the intersection P of AR and BS?
  • Doodles
    problem

    Doodles

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
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    Draw a 'doodle' - a closed intersecting curve drawn without taking pencil from paper. What can you prove about the intersections?
  • Summats Clear
    problem

    Summats Clear

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Find the sum, f(n), of the first n terms of the sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3........p, p, p +1, p + 1,..... Prove that f(a + b) - f(a - b) = ab.
  • Stonehenge
    problem

    Stonehenge

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Explain why, when moving heavy objects on rollers, the object moves twice as fast as the rollers. Try a similar experiment yourself.