List

Working Systematically - Advanced

Introducing NRICH TWILGO
interactivity

Introducing NRICH TWILGO

We're excited about this new program for drawing beautiful mathematical designs. Can you work out how we made our first few pictures and, even better, share your most elegant solutions with us?
Latin Squares
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Latin Squares

A Latin square of order n is an array of n symbols in which each symbol occurs exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column.
Corresponding Sudokus
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Corresponding Sudokus

This second Sudoku article discusses "Corresponding Sudokus" which are pairs of Sudokus with terms that can be matched using a substitution rule.
Twin Corresponding Sudoku
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Twin Corresponding Sudoku

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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This sudoku requires you to have "double vision" - two Sudoku's for the price of one
All-Variables Sudoku
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All-Variables Sudoku

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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The challenge is to find the values of the variables if you are to solve this Sudoku.
LCM Sudoku II
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LCM Sudoku II

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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You are given the Lowest Common Multiples of sets of digits. Find the digits and then solve the Sudoku.
Colour Islands Sudoku 2
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Colour Islands Sudoku 2

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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In this Sudoku, there are three coloured "islands" in the 9x9 grid. Within each "island" EVERY group of nine cells that form a 3x3 square must contain the numbers 1 through 9.
Advent Calendar 2011 - Secondary
problem

Advent Calendar 2011 - Secondary

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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Advent Calendar 2011 - a mathematical activity for each day during the run-up to Christmas.
River Crossing
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River Crossing

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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There is nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats...
crossing the bridge
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crossing the bridge

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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Four friends must cross a bridge. How can they all cross it in just 17 minutes?
Instant Insanity
problem

Instant Insanity

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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Given the nets of 4 cubes with the faces coloured in 4 colours, build a tower so that on each vertical wall no colour is repeated, that is all 4 colours appear.

LOGO Challenge - Pentagram Pylons
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LOGO Challenge - Pentagram Pylons

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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Pentagram Pylons - can you elegantly recreate them? Or, the European flag in LOGO - what poses the greater problem?
LOGO Challenge - Sequences and Pentagrams
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LOGO Challenge - Sequences and Pentagrams

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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Explore this how this program produces the sequences it does. What are you controlling when you change the values of the variables?
LOGO Challenge - Following on
problem

LOGO Challenge - Following on

Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
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Remember that you want someone following behind you to see where you went. Can yo work out how these patterns were created and recreate them?
Placeholder: several colourful numbers
article

Binomial Coefficients

An introduction to the binomial coefficient, and exploration of some of the formulae it satisfies.
Twin chute-swapping Sudoku
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Twin chute-swapping Sudoku

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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A pair of Sudokus with lots in common. In fact they are the same problem but rearranged. Can you find how they relate to solve them both?
Difference Dynamics
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Difference Dynamics

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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Take three whole numbers. The differences between them give you three new numbers. Find the differences between the new numbers and keep repeating this. What happens?
Sorted
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Sorted

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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How can you quickly sort a suit of cards in order from Ace to King?
The Tour de Clochemerle
problem

The Tour de Clochemerle

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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Can you work out where these 5 riders came in a not-quite-so-famous bike race?

Plum Tree
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Plum Tree

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

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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Five equations and five unknowns. Is there an easy way to find the unknown values?
Parabolic Patterns
problem
Favourite

Parabolic Patterns

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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The illustration shows the graphs of fifteen functions. Two of them have equations $y=x^2$ and $y=-(x-4)^2$. Find the equations of all the other graphs.

Pole Star Sudoku
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Pole Star Sudoku

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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A Sudoku based on clues that give the differences between adjacent cells.
Constellation Sudoku
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Constellation Sudoku

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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Special clue numbers related to the difference between numbers in two adjacent cells and values of the stars in the "constellation" make this a doubly interesting problem.
Placeholder: several colourful numbers
problem

Bent out of Shape

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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An introduction to bond angle geometry.
A long time at the till
problem

A long time at the till

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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Try to solve this very difficult problem and then study our two suggested solutions. How would you use your knowledge to try to solve variants on the original problem?
Magic Caterpillars
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Magic Caterpillars

Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
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Label the joints and legs of these graph theory caterpillars so that the vertex sums are all equal.
Impuzzable
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Impuzzable

This is about a fiendishly difficult jigsaw and how to solve it using a computer program.
Twin Equivalent Sudoku
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Twin Equivalent Sudoku

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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This Sudoku problem consists of a pair of linked standard Suduko puzzles each with some starting digits
Function Pyramids
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Function Pyramids

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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A function pyramid is a structure where each entry in the pyramid is determined by the two entries below it. Can you figure out how the pyramid is generated?

Purr-fection
problem

Purr-fection

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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What is the smallest perfect square that ends with the four digits 9009?
W Mates
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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.
Adding machine
problem

Adding machine

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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Can you set the logic gates so that this machine can decide how many bulbs have been switched on?
Ante Up
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Ante Up

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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Use cunning to work out a strategy to win this game.
Exhaustion
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Exhaustion

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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Find the positive integer solutions of the equation (1+1/a)(1+1/b)(1+1/c) = 2
Knights moving
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Knights moving

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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Can you swap the black knights with the white knights in the minimum number of moves?
Stage 5 Cipher Challenge
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Stage 5 Cipher Challenge

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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Can you crack these very difficult challenge ciphers? How might you systematise the cracking of unknown ciphers?
Interpolating polynomials
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Interpolating polynomials

Age
16 to 18
Challenge level
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Given a set of points (x,y) with distinct x values, find a polynomial that goes through all of them, then prove some results about the existence and uniqueness of these polynomials.