List

Year 8 Conjecturing and Generalising

Subtraction Surprise
problem
Favourite

Subtraction Surprise

Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
Try out some calculations. Are you surprised by the results?
Method in multiplying madness?
problem
Favourite

Method in multiplying madness?

Age
7 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star
Watch our videos of multiplication methods that you may not have met before. Can you make sense of them?
spaces for exploration
article

spaces for exploration

Alf Coles writes about how he tries to create 'spaces for exploration' for the students in his classrooms.
Keep it simple
problem
Favourite

Keep it simple

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
Can all unit fractions be written as the sum of two unit fractions?
How much can we spend?
problem
Favourite

How much can we spend?

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
A country has decided to have just two different coins, 3z and 5z coins. Which totals can be made? Is there a largest total that cannot be made? How do you know?
Charlie's delightful machine
problem
Favourite

Charlie's delightful machine

Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star

Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you develop a strategy to work out the rules controlling each light?

Your number was...
problem
Favourite

Your number was...

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
Think of a number and follow my instructions. Tell me your answer, and I'll tell you what you started with! Can you explain how I know?
What numbers can we make?
problem
Favourite

What numbers can we make?

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star

Imagine we have four bags containing a large number of 1s, 4s, 7s and 10s. What numbers can we make?

Forwards Add Backwards
problem
Favourite

Forwards Add Backwards

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
What happens when you add a three digit number to its reverse?
Multiple Surprises
problem
Favourite

Multiple Surprises

Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
Sequences of multiples keep cropping up...
Polygon Rings
problem
Favourite

Polygon Rings

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star

Join pentagons together edge to edge. Will they form a ring?

Frogs
problem
Favourite

Frogs

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
How many moves does it take to swap over some red and blue frogs? Do you have a method?
Interactive Spinners
problem
Favourite

Interactive Spinners

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
This interactivity invites you to make conjectures and explore probabilities of outcomes related to two independent events.
Crossed Ends
problem
Favourite

Crossed Ends

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
Crosses can be drawn on number grids of various sizes. What do you notice when you add opposite ends?
Can they be equal?
problem
Favourite

Can they be equal?

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
Can you find rectangles where the value of the area is the same as the value of the perimeter?
Seven Squares
problem
Favourite

Seven Squares

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star
Watch these videos to see how Phoebe, Alice and Luke chose to draw 7 squares. How would they draw 100?
Same Answer
problem
Favourite

Same Answer

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star
Aisha's division and subtraction calculations both gave the same answer! Can you find some more examples?
Fibonacci Surprises
problem
Favourite

Fibonacci Surprises

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star

Play around with the Fibonacci sequence and discover some surprising results!

Where can we visit?
problem
Favourite

Where can we visit?

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star
Charlie and Abi put a counter on 42. They wondered if they could visit all the other numbers on their 1-100 board, moving the counter using just these two operations: x2 and -5. What do you think?
Egyptian Fractions
problem
Favourite

Egyptian Fractions

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star

The Egyptians expressed all fractions as the sum of different unit fractions. Here is a chance to explore how they could have written different fractions.

Farey Sequences
problem
Favourite

Farey Sequences

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star
There are lots of ideas to explore in these sequences of ordered fractions.
Coordinate Patterns
problem
Favourite

Coordinate Patterns

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star
Charlie and Alison have been drawing patterns on coordinate grids. Can you picture where the patterns lead?
Stars
problem
Favourite

Stars

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star
Can you work out what step size to take to ensure you visit all the dots on the circle?
Route to infinity
problem
Favourite

Route to infinity

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star
Can you describe this route to infinity? Where will the arrows take you next?
Cuboid challenge
problem
Favourite

Cuboid Challenge

Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star

What's the largest volume of box you can make from a square of paper?

Power mad!
problem
Favourite

Power mad!

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star empty star

Powers of numbers behave in surprising ways. Take a look at some of these and try to explain why they are true.

Consecutive negative numbers
problem
Favourite

Consecutive negative numbers

Age
11 to 14
Challenge level
filled star filled star filled star
Do you notice anything about the solutions when you add and/or subtract consecutive negative numbers?