A tetromino is made up of four squares joined edge to edge. Can
this tetromino, together with 15 copies of itself, be used to cover
an eight by eight chessboard?
NRICH December 2006 advent calendar - a new tangram for each day in
the run-up to Christmas.
Three beads are threaded on a circular wire and are coloured either red or blue. Can you find all four different combinations?
Our 2008 Advent Calendar has a 'Making Maths' activity for every
day in the run-up to Christmas.
You have 4 red and 5 blue counters. How many ways can they be
placed on a 3 by 3 grid so that all the rows columns and diagonals
have an even number of red counters?
This was a problem for our birthday website. Can you use four of these pieces to form a square? How about making a square with all five pieces?
Hover your mouse over the counters to see which ones will be
removed. Click to remover them. The winner is the last one to
remove a counter. How you can make sure you win?
Cut four triangles from a square as shown in the picture. How many
different shapes can you make by fitting the four triangles back
An interactive activity for one to experiment with a tricky tessellation
Find out how we can describe the "symmetries" of this triangle and
investigate some combinations of rotating and flipping it.
What are the coordinates of the coloured dots that mark out the
tangram? Try changing the position of the origin. What happens to
the coordinates now?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Granma T?
This 100 square jigsaw is written in code. It starts with 1 and ends with 100. Can you build it up?
Explore the different tunes you can make with these five gourds.
What are the similarities and differences between the two tunes you
Investigate the smallest number of moves it takes to turn these
mats upside-down if you can only turn exactly three at a time.
Try to stop your opponent from being able to split the piles of counters into unequal numbers. Can you find a strategy?
Ahmed has some wooden planks to use for three sides of a rabbit run
against the shed. What quadrilaterals would he be able to make with
the planks of different lengths?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Mai Ling?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Wai Ping, Wah Ming and Chi Wing?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of the candle and sundial?
A game for 2 people that everybody knows. You can play with a
friend or online. If you play correctly you never lose!
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this junk?
Choose 13 spots on the grid. Can you work out the scoring system? What is the maximum possible score?
Can you find all the different ways of lining up these Cuisenaire
An interactive game to be played on your own or with friends.
Imagine you are having a party. Each person takes it in turns to
stand behind the chair where they will get the most chocolate.
A generic circular pegboard resource.
A train building game for 2 players.
How many different triangles can you make on a circular pegboard that has nine pegs?
Choose the size of your pegboard and the shapes you can make. Can you work out the strategies needed to block your opponent?
Use the Cuisenaire rods environment to investigate ratio. Can you
find pairs of rods in the ratio 3:2? How about 9:6?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this telephone?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Little Fung at the table?
How can the same pieces of the tangram make this bowl before and after it was chipped? Use the interactivity to try and work out what is going on!
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of these people?
What shaped overlaps can you make with two circles which are the
same size? What shapes are 'left over'? What shapes can you make
when the circles are different sizes?
Investigate how the four L-shapes fit together to make an enlarged
L-shape. You could explore this idea with other shapes too.
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this brazier for roasting chestnuts?
Place the numbers 1 to 10 in the circles so that each number is the
difference between the two numbers just below it.
A card pairing game involving knowledge of simple ratio.
Exchange the positions of the two sets of counters in the least possible number of moves
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of these convex shapes?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Little Ming and Little Fung dancing?
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of the workmen?
An interactive game for 1 person. You are given a rectangle with 50 squares on it. Roll the dice to get a percentage between 2 and 100. How many squares is this? Keep going until you get 100. . . .
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of the lobster, yacht and cyclist?
Is it possible to place 2 counters on the 3 by 3 grid so that there
is an even number of counters in every row and every column? How
about if you have 3 counters or 4 counters or....?
Can you put the numbers from 1 to 15 on the circles so that no
consecutive numbers lie anywhere along a continuous straight line?
A game for 2 people that can be played on line or with pens and paper. Combine your knowledege of coordinates with your skills of strategic thinking.
Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of the watering can and man in a boat?