When number pyramids have a sequence on the bottom layer, some interesting patterns emerge...
It's easy to work out the areas of most squares that we meet, but
what if they were tilted?
Try entering different sets of numbers in the number pyramids. How does the total at the top change?
The opposite vertices of a square have coordinates (a,b) and (c,d). What are the coordinates of the other vertices?
The number of plants in Mr McGregor's magic potting shed increases
overnight. He'd like to put the same number of plants in each of
his gardens, planting one garden each day. How can he do it?
Can you explain the strategy for winning this game with any target?
Triangle numbers can be represented by a triangular array of squares. What do you notice about the sum of identical triangle numbers?
What are the areas of these triangles? What do you notice? Can you generalise to other "families" of triangles?
A game for 2 players that can be played online. Players take it in turns to select a word from the 9 words given. The aim is to select all the occurrences of the same letter.
A tilted square is a square with no horizontal sides. Can you
devise a general instruction for the construction of a square when
you are given just one of its sides?
Euler discussed whether or not it was possible to stroll around Koenigsberg crossing each of its seven bridges exactly once. Experiment with different numbers of islands and bridges.
Here is a solitaire type environment for you to experiment with. Which targets can you reach?
These formulae are often quoted, but rarely proved. In this article, we derive the formulae for the volumes of a square-based pyramid and a cone, using relatively simple mathematical concepts.
We can show that (x + 1)² = x² + 2x + 1 by considering
the area of an (x + 1) by (x + 1) square. Show in a similar way
that (x + 2)² = x² + 4x + 4
Interactive game. Set your own level of challenge, practise your table skills and beat your previous best score.
Use the interactivity to listen to the bells ringing a pattern. Now
it's your turn! Play one of the bells yourself. How do you know
when it is your turn to ring?
A and B are two interlocking cogwheels having p teeth and q teeth respectively. One tooth on B is painted red. Find the values of p and q for which the red tooth on B contacts every gap on the. . . .
Use the interactivity to play two of the bells in a pattern. How do
you know when it is your turn to ring, and how do you know which
bell to ring?
A red square and a blue square overlap so that the corner of the red square rests on the centre of the blue square. Show that, whatever the orientation of the red square, it covers a quarter of the. . . .
Can you make a right-angled triangle on this peg-board by joining up three points round the edge?
Show how this pentagonal tile can be used to tile the plane and
describe the transformations which map this pentagon to its images
in the tiling.
Learn how to use the Shuffles interactivity by running through these tutorial demonstrations.
Can you discover whether this is a fair game?
Can you find all the 4-ball shuffles?
This rectangle is cut into five pieces which fit exactly into a triangular outline and also into a square outline where the triangle, the rectangle and the square have equal areas.
Slide the pieces to move Khun Phaen past all the guards into the position on the right from which he can escape to freedom.
First Connect Three game for an adult and child. Use the dice numbers and either addition or subtraction to get three numbers in a straight line.
Six balls of various colours are randomly shaken into a trianglular
arrangement. What is the probability of having at least one red in
A game for two people, or play online. Given a target number, say 23, and a range of numbers to choose from, say 1-4, players take it in turns to add to the running total to hit their target.
Do you know how to find the area of a triangle? You can count the
squares. What happens if we turn the triangle on end? Press the
button and see. Try counting the number of units in the triangle
now. . . .
A game for 2 players. Can be played online. One player has 1 red
counter, the other has 4 blue. The red counter needs to reach the
other side, and the blue needs to trap the red.
This is an interactivity in which you have to sort the steps in the
completion of the square into the correct order to prove the
formula for the solutions of quadratic equations.
What is the relationship between the angle at the centre and the
angles at the circumference, for angles which stand on the same
arc? Can you prove it?
Draw some isosceles triangles with an area of $9$cm$^2$ and a vertex at (20,20). If all the vertices must have whole number coordinates, how many is it possible to draw?
The aim of the game is to slide the green square from the top right
hand corner to the bottom left hand corner in the least number of
This interactivity invites you to make conjectures and explore probabilities of outcomes related to two independent events.
Can you locate the lost giraffe? Input coordinates to help you
search and find the giraffe in the fewest guesses.
Practise your diamond mining skills and your x,y coordination in this homage to Pacman.
An animation that helps you understand the game of Nim.
Arrange the four number cards on the grid, according to the rules, to make a diagonal, vertical or horizontal line.
This problem is about investigating whether it is possible to start at one vertex of a platonic solid and visit every other vertex once only returning to the vertex you started at.
How many different triangles can you make which consist of the
centre point and two of the points on the edge? Can you work out
each of their angles?
Can you use small coloured cubes to make a 3 by 3 by 3 cube so that each face of the bigger cube contains one of each colour?
You can move the 4 pieces of the jigsaw and fit them into both
outlines. Explain what has happened to the missing one unit of
What can you say about the values of n that make $7^n + 3^n$ a multiple of 10? Are there other pairs of integers between 1 and 10 which have similar properties?
Charlie likes tablecloths that use as many colours as possible, but insists that his tablecloths have some symmetry. Can you work out how many colours he needs for different tablecloth designs?
A circle rolls around the outside edge of a square so that its circumference always touches the edge of the square. Can you describe the locus of the centre of the circle?
If you continue the pattern, can you predict what each of the following areas will be? Try to explain your prediction.
There are nine teddies in Teddy Town - three red, three blue and three yellow. There are also nine houses, three of each colour. Can you put them on the map of Teddy Town according to the rules?
To avoid losing think of another very well known game where the
patterns of play are similar.