Investigate the smallest number of moves it takes to turn these
mats upside-down if you can only turn exactly three at a time.
A group of children are discussing the height of a tall tree. How would you go about finding out its height?
Make your own double-sided magic square. But can you complete both
sides once you've made the pieces?
You have a set of the digits from 0 – 9. Can you arrange these in the 5 boxes to make two-digit numbers as close to the targets as possible?
Can you each work out the number on your card? What do you notice?
How could you sort the cards?
This practical activity involves measuring length/distance.
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?
You will need a long strip of paper for this task. Cut it into different lengths. How could you find out how long each piece is?
Kimie and Sebastian were making sticks from interlocking cubes and lining them up. Can they make their lines the same length? Can they make any other lines?
Let's say you can only use two different lengths - 2 units and 4
units. Using just these 2 lengths as the edges how many different
cuboids can you make?
These pictures show squares split into halves. Can you find other ways?
The Man is much smaller than us. Can you use the picture of him
next to a mug to estimate his height and how much tea he drinks?
Galileo, a famous inventor who lived about 400 years ago, came up
with an idea similar to this for making a time measuring
instrument. Can you turn your pendulum into an accurate minute
The ancient Egyptians were said to make right-angled triangles
using a rope with twelve equal sections divided by knots. What
other triangles could you make if you had a rope like this?
Here is a version of the game 'Happy Families' for you to make and
In this challenge, you will work in a group to investigate circular
fences enclosing trees that are planted in square or triangular
How many triangles can you make on the 3 by 3 pegboard?
Arrange 9 red cubes, 9 blue cubes and 9 yellow cubes into a large 3 by 3 cube. No row or column of cubes must contain two cubes of the same colour.
Using different numbers of sticks, how many different triangles are
you able to make? Can you make any rules about the numbers of
sticks that make the most triangles?
Our 2008 Advent Calendar has a 'Making Maths' activity for every
day in the run-up to Christmas.
In this town, houses are built with one room for each person. There
are some families of seven people living in the town. In how many
different ways can they build their houses?
Can you put these shapes in order of size? Start with the smallest.
What is the greatest number of counters you can place on the grid below without four of them lying at the corners of a square?
Can you make the birds from the egg tangram?
What happens to the area of a square if you double the length of
the sides? Try the same thing with rectangles, diamonds and other
shapes. How do the four smaller ones fit into the larger one?
NRICH December 2006 advent calendar - a new tangram for each day in
the run-up to Christmas.
This problem focuses on Dienes' Logiblocs. What is the same and
what is different about these pairs of shapes? Can you describe the
shapes in the picture?
Take 5 cubes of one colour and 2 of another colour. How many
different ways can you join them if the 5 must touch the table and
the 2 must not touch the table?
An activity making various patterns with 2 x 1 rectangular tiles.
Can you make the most extraordinary, the most amazing, the most
unusual patterns/designs from these triangles which are made in a
How can you put five cereal packets together to make different
shapes if you must put them face-to-face?
How many different cuboids can you make when you use four CDs or
DVDs? How about using five, then six?
Try continuing these patterns made from triangles. Can you create
your own repeating pattern?
What do these two triangles have in common? How are they related?
Use the three triangles to fill these outline shapes. Perhaps you can create some of your own shapes for a friend to fill?
In how many ways can you fit two of these yellow triangles
together? Can you predict the number of ways two blue triangles can
be fitted together?
Take a rectangle of paper and fold it in half, and half again, to
make four smaller rectangles. How many different ways can you fold
This practical investigation invites you to make tessellating
shapes in a similar way to the artist Escher.
Can you create more models that follow these rules?
How can you arrange the 5 cubes so that you need the smallest number of Brush Loads of paint to cover them? Try with other numbers of cubes as well.
If you split the square into these two pieces, it is possible to fit the pieces together again to make a new shape. How many new shapes can you make?
If you have ten counters numbered 1 to 10, how many can you put into pairs that add to 10? Which ones do you have to leave out? Why?
How many models can you find which obey these rules?
Explore the triangles that can be made with seven sticks of the
Can you predict when you'll be clapping and when you'll be clicking
if you start this rhythm? How about when a friend begins a new
rhythm at the same time?
If these balls are put on a line with each ball touching the one in
front and the one behind, which arrangement makes the shortest line
Can you order pictures of the development of a frog from frogspawn
and of a bean seed growing into a plant?
We went to the cinema and decided to buy some bags of popcorn so we
asked about the prices. Investigate how much popcorn each bag holds
so find out which we might have bought.
What is the largest number of circles we can fit into the frame
without them overlapping? How do you know? What will happen if you
try the other shapes?
What is the smallest cuboid that you can put in this box so that
you cannot fit another that's the same into it?