Working backwards can be a very useful problem-solving skill. These activities lend themselves to being tackled in this way.
This collection is one of our Primary Curriculum collections - tasks that are grouped by topic.
Nim-7
1 out of 3
Can you work out how to win this game of Nim? Does it matter if you go first or second?
Junior Frogs
2 out of 3
Have a go at this well-known challenge. Can you swap the frogs and toads in as few slides and jumps as possible?
Would You Rather?
1 out of 3
Would you rather: Have 10% of £5 or 75% of 80p? Be given 60% of 2 pizzas or 26% of 5 pizzas?
Multiplication Squares
1 out of 3
Can you work out the arrangement of the digits in the square so that the given products are correct? The numbers 1 - 9 may be used once and once only.
Got It
1 out of 3
By choosing to add numbers from 1-4, can you hit the target number in this game?
What's in the Box?
1 out of 3
This big box multiplies anything that goes inside it by the same number. If you know the numbers that come out, what multiplication might be going on in the box?
First Connect Three
1 out of 3
Can you add or subtract the two numbers on the spinners to complete a row of three?
Nice or Nasty
1 out of 3
Will you play the nice or the nasty version of this dice game?
Missing Multipliers
1 out of 3
What is the smallest number of answers you need to reveal in order to work out the missing headers?
Play to 37
1 out of 3
In this game the winner is the first to make the total 37. Is this a fair game?
Maze 100
2 out of 3
Can you go through this maze so that the numbers you pass add to exactly 100?
Mystery Matrix
2 out of 3
Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2-12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
All the Digits
2 out of 3
This multiplication uses each of the digits 0 - 9. Can you work out where each digit goes?
Andy's Marbles
2 out of 3
Andy had a big bag of marbles but unfortunately the bottom of it split and all the marbles spilled out. Use the information to find out how many there were in the bag originally.
Counting Cards
3 out of 3
A magician took a suit of thirteen cards and held them in his hand face down. Every card he revealed had the same value as the one he had just finished spelling. How did this work?