Arrange the digits 1, 1, 2, 2, 3 and 3 so that between the two 1's
there is one digit, between the two 2's there are two digits, and
between the two 3's there are three digits.
Can you substitute numbers for the letters in these sums?
Kate has eight multilink cubes. She has two red ones, two yellow, two green and two blue. She wants to fit them together to make a cube so that each colour shows on each face just once.
Can you put the 25 coloured tiles into the 5 x 5 square so that no column, no row and no diagonal line have tiles of the same colour in them?
Seven friends went to a fun fair with lots of scary rides. They
decided to pair up for rides until each friend had ridden once with
each of the others. What was the total number rides?
Use the clues to work out which cities Mohamed, Sheng, Tanya and
Bharat live in.
If these elves wear a different outfit every day for as many days
as possible, how many days can their fun last?
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.
How could you put eight beanbags in the hoops so that there are
four in the blue hoop, five in the red and six in the yellow? Can
you find all the ways of doing this?
The letters in the following addition sum represent the digits 1
... 9. If A=3 and D=2, what number is represented by "CAYLEY"?
What do the digits in the number fifteen add up to? How many other
numbers have digits with the same total but no zeros?
This cube has ink on each face which leaves marks on paper as it is rolled. Can you work out what is on each face and the route it has taken?
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?
What happens when you add three numbers together? Will your answer be odd or even? How do you know?
Can you arrange the numbers 1 to 17 in a row so that each adjacent
pair adds up to a square number?
This 100 square jigsaw is written in code. It starts with 1 and ends with 100. Can you build it up?
A cinema has 100 seats. Show how it is possible to sell exactly 100 tickets and take exactly £100 if the prices are £10 for adults, 50p for pensioners and 10p for children.
This Sudoku, based on differences. Using the one clue number can you find the solution?
Number problems at primary level that require careful consideration.
Place six toy ladybirds into the box so that there are two ladybirds in every column and every row.
Make a pair of cubes that can be moved to show all the days of the
month from the 1st to the 31st.
The discs for this game are kept in a flat square box with a square
hole for each disc. Use the information to find out how many discs
of each colour there are in the box.
What do you notice about the date 03.06.09? Or 08.01.09? This
challenge invites you to investigate some interesting dates
Three children are going to buy some plants for their birthdays. They will plant them within circular paths. How could they do this?
Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
This magic square has operations written in it, to make it into a
maze. Start wherever you like, go through every cell and go out a
total of 15!
The letters of the word ABACUS have been arranged in the shape of a
triangle. How many different ways can you find to read the word
ABACUS from this triangular pattern?
Suppose we allow ourselves to use three numbers less than 10 and
multiply them together. How many different products can you find?
How do you know you've got them all?
Your challenge is to find the longest way through the network
following this rule. You can start and finish anywhere, and with
any shape, as long as you follow the correct order.
In this challenge, buckets come in five different sizes. If you choose some buckets, can you investigate the different ways in which they can be filled?
Each of the main diagonals of this sudoku must contain the numbers
1 to 9 and each rectangle width the numbers 1 to 4.
These are the faces of Will, Lil, Bill, Phil and Jill. Use the clues to work out which name goes with each face.
In a bowl there are 4 Chocolates, 3 Jellies and 5 Mints. Find a way
to share the sweets between the three children so they each get the
kind they like. Is there more than one way to do it?
Lolla bought a balloon at the circus. She gave the clown six coins
to pay for it. What could Lolla have paid for the balloon?
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.
A Sudoku with clues as ratios.
Each clue number in this sudoku is the product of the two numbers in adjacent cells.
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?
Using the statements, can you work out how many of each type of
rabbit there are in these pens?
A Sudoku with clues as ratios or fractions.
Two sudokus in one. Challenge yourself to make the necessary
Can you find which shapes you need to put into the grid to make the
totals at the end of each row and the bottom of each column?
What can you say about these shapes? This problem challenges you to create shapes with different areas and perimeters.
This problem is based on a code using two different prime numbers
less than 10. You'll need to multiply them together and shift the
alphabet forwards by the result. Can you decipher the code?
Ten cards are put into five envelopes so that there are two cards in each envelope. The sum of the numbers inside it is written on each envelope. What numbers could be inside the envelopes?
How could you put these three beads into bags? How many different ways can you do it? How could you record what you've done?
These two group activities use mathematical reasoning - one is
numerical, one geometric.
Can you use the information to find out which cards I have used?
Can you make square numbers by adding two prime numbers together?
Ben has five coins in his pocket. How much money might he have?