The tasks in this feature encourage learners to become more fluent with times tables, but with a difference... All too often, we offer children a question and ask them to work out the answer. By turning this around and starting from the answer, we stimulate learners' mathematical curiosity and provide much more scope for them to explore and make connections.
problem
Favourite
I'm Eight
Age
5 to 11
Challenge level
Find a great variety of ways of asking questions which make 8.
problem
Favourite
Tables Teaser
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
How will you work out which numbers have been used to create this multiplication square?
problem
Starfish Spotting
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
How many starfish could there be on the beach, and how many children, if I can see 28 arms?
problem
Favourite
Multiplication Square Jigsaw
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
Can you complete this jigsaw of the multiplication square?
problem
Favourite
Shape Times Shape
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
These eleven shapes each stand for a different number. Can you use the number sentences to work out what they are?
problem
Favourite
Missing Multipliers
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
What is the smallest number of answers you need to reveal in order to work out the missing headers?
problem
Looking at Lego
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
This task offers an opportunity to explore all sorts of number relationships, but particularly multiplication.
game
Ducking and Dividing
Your vessel, the Starship Diophantus, has become damaged in deep space. Can you use your knowledge of times tables and some lightning reflexes to survive?
problem
Favourite
Mystery Matrix
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
problem
Favourite
Catrina's Cards
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
How would you find out how many football cards Catrina has collected?
problem
Favourite
Clapping Times
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
If you count from 1 to 20 and clap more loudly on the numbers in the two times table, as well as saying those numbers loudly, which numbers will be loud?
problem
Favourite
Lots of Lollies
Age
5 to 7
Challenge level
Frances and Rishi were given a bag of lollies. They shared them out evenly and had one left over. How many lollies could there have been in the bag?
problem
Favourite
Zios and Zepts
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
On the planet Vuv there are two sorts of creatures. The Zios have 3 legs and the Zepts have 7 legs. The great planetary explorer Nico counted 52 legs. How many Zios and how many Zepts were there?
problem
Favourite
Factor Lines
Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
Arrange the four number cards on the grid, according to the rules, to make a diagonal, vertical or horizontal line.
problem
Favourite
Multiples Grid
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
What do the numbers shaded in blue on this hundred square have in common? What do you notice about the pink numbers? How about the shaded numbers in the other squares?
problem
Favourite
Factor-Multiple Chains
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
Can you see how these factor-multiple chains work? Find the chain which contains the smallest possible numbers. How about the largest possible numbers?
problem
Favourite
Table patterns go wild!
Age
7 to 11
Challenge level
Nearly all of us have made table patterns on hundred squares, that is 10 by 10 grids. This problem looks at the patterns on differently sized square grids.