Consider all of the five digit numbers which we can form using only
the digits 2, 4, 6 and 8. If these numbers are arranged in
ascending order, what is the 512th number?
How many positive integers less than or equal to 4000 can be
written down without using the digits 7, 8 or 9?
How many six digit numbers are there which DO NOT contain a 5?
Take the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and imagine them written down in
every possible order to give 5 digit numbers. Find the sum of the
When the number x 1 x x x is multiplied by 417 this gives the
answer 9 x x x 0 5 7. Find the missing digits, each of which is
represented by an "x" .
Choose two digits and arrange them to make two double-digit
numbers. Now add your double-digit numbers. Now add your single
digit numbers. Divide your double-digit answer by your single-digit
answer. . . .
This is a game in which your counters move in a spiral round the snail's shell. It is about understanding tens and units.
There are two forms of counting on Vuvv - Zios count in base 3 and
Zepts count in base 7. One day four of these creatures, two Zios
and two Zepts, sat on the summit of a hill to count the legs of. . . .
Can you arrange the digits 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 into three 3-digit
numbers such that their total is close to 1500?
Find out what a Deca Tree is and then work out how many leaves
there will be after the woodcutter has cut off a trunk, a branch, a
twig and a leaf.
There are six numbers written in five different scripts. Can you sort out which is which?
Can you replace the letters with numbers? Is there only one
solution in each case?
Which is quicker, counting up to 30 in ones or counting up to 300 in tens? Why?
Four of these clues are needed to find the chosen number on this
grid and four are true but do nothing to help in finding the
number. Can you sort out the clues and find the number?
A church hymn book contains 700 hymns. The numbers of the hymns are
displayed by combining special small single-digit boards. What is
the minimum number of small boards that is needed?
Follow the clues to find the mystery number.
Replace each letter with a digit to make this addition correct.
When asked how old she was, the teacher replied: My age in years is
not prime but odd and when reversed and added to my age you have a
Each child in Class 3 took four numbers out of the bag. Who had
made the highest even number?
A school song book contains 700 songs. The numbers of the songs are displayed by combining special small single-digit boards. What is the minimum number of small boards that is needed?
Can you work out some different ways to balance this equation?
Can you complete this calculation by filling in the missing numbers? In how many different ways can you do it?
Have a go at balancing this equation. Can you find different ways of doing it?
Number problems for inquiring primary learners.
Number problems at primary level to work on with others.
Who said that adding couldn't be fun?
Number problems at primary level that may require determination.
Number problems at primary level that require careful consideration.
Investigate the different ways these aliens count in this
challenge. You could start by thinking about how each of them would
write our number 7.
Three people chose this as a favourite problem. It is the sort of
problem that needs thinking time - but once the connection is made
it gives access to many similar ideas.
The number 3723(in base 10) is written as 123 in another base. What
is that base?
Take any two digit number, for example 58. What do you have to do to reverse the order of the digits? Can you find a rule for reversing the order of digits for any two digit number?
32 x 38 = 30 x 40 + 2 x 8; 34 x 36 = 30 x 40 + 4 x 6; 56 x 54 = 50
x 60 + 6 x 4; 73 x 77 = 70 x 80 + 3 x 7 Verify and generalise if
In the multiplication calculation, some of the digits have been replaced by letters and others by asterisks. Can you reconstruct the original multiplication?
This multiplication uses each of the digits 0 - 9 once and once only. Using the information given, can you replace the stars in the calculation with figures?
What do the digits in the number fifteen add up to? How many other
numbers have digits with the same total but no zeros?
The Scot, John Napier, invented these strips about 400 years ago to
help calculate multiplication and division. Can you work out how to
use Napier's bones to find the answer to these multiplications?
Find the sum of all three-digit numbers each of whose digits is
Becky created a number plumber which multiplies by 5 and subtracts
4. What do you notice about the numbers that it produces? Can you
explain your findings?
Explore the relationship between simple linear functions and their
This 100 square jigsaw is written in code. It starts with 1 and ends with 100. Can you build it up?
Find the values of the nine letters in the sum: FOOT + BALL = GAME
You have two sets of the digits 0 – 9. Can you arrange these in the five boxes to make four-digit numbers as close to the target numbers as possible?
The number 27 is special because it is three times the sum of its digits 27 = 3 (2 + 7). Find some two digit numbers that are SEVEN times the sum of their digits (seven-up numbers)?
Exploring the structure of a number square: how quickly can you put the number tiles in the right place on the grid?
What happens when you round these three-digit numbers to the nearest 100?
Use two dice to generate two numbers with one decimal place. What happens when you round these numbers to the nearest whole number?
Choose any 3 digits and make a 6 digit number by repeating the 3
digits in the same order (e.g. 594594). Explain why whatever digits
you choose the number will always be divisible by 7, 11 and 13.
Four strategy dice games to consolidate pupils' understanding of rounding.
What happens when you round these numbers to the nearest whole number?