Put operations signs between the numbers 3 4 5 6 to make the highest possible number and lowest possible number.
On the table there is a pile of oranges and lemons that weighs
exactly one kilogram. Using the information, can you work out how
many lemons there are?
Rocco ran in a 200 m race for his class. Use the information to
find out how many runners there were in the race and what Rocco's
finishing position was.
Amy has a box containing domino pieces but she does not think it is a complete set. She has 24 dominoes in her box and there are 125 spots on them altogether. Which of her domino pieces are missing?
Use 4 four times with simple operations so that you get the answer 12. Can you make 15, 16 and 17 too?
Try adding together the dates of all the days in one week. Now
multiply the first date by 7 and add 21. Can you explain what
Annie cut this numbered cake into 3 pieces with 3 cuts so that the
numbers on each piece added to the same total. Where were the cuts
and what fraction of the whole cake was each piece?
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.
The clockmaker's wife cut up his birthday cake to look like a clock
face. Can you work out who received each piece?
There are three buckets each of which holds a maximum of 5 litres.
Use the clues to work out how much liquid there is in each bucket.
Use the information to work out how many gifts there are in each
What is the sum of all the three digit whole numbers?
Peter, Melanie, Amil and Jack received a total of 38 chocolate
eggs. Use the information to work out how many eggs each person
On a calculator, make 15 by using only the 2 key and any of the
four operations keys. How many ways can you find to do it?
Fill in the missing numbers so that adding each pair of corner
numbers gives you the number between them (in the box).
Fill in the numbers to make the sum of each row, column and
diagonal equal to 34. For an extra challenge try the huge American
Flag magic square.
Well now, what would happen if we lost all the nines in our number
system? Have a go at writing the numbers out in this way and have a
look at the multiplications table.
The value of the circle changes in each of the following problems. Can you discover its value in each problem?
Find the next number in this pattern: 3, 7, 19, 55 ...
Number problems at primary level that require careful consideration.
Number problems at primary level that may require determination.
If the answer's 2010, what could the question be?
This group activity will encourage you to share calculation
strategies and to think about which strategy might be the most
This task combines spatial awareness with addition and multiplication.
What happens when you add the digits of a number then multiply the
result by 2 and you keep doing this? You could try for different
numbers and different rules.
Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many
sheep there are in each field.
If the numbers 5, 7 and 4 go into this function machine, what
numbers will come out?
Where can you draw a line on a clock face so that the numbers on
both sides have the same total?
What is happening at each box in these machines?
Can you score 100 by throwing rings on this board? Is there more
than way to do it?
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?
Here are the prices for 1st and 2nd class mail within the UK. You have an unlimited number of each of these stamps. Which stamps would you need to post a parcel weighing 825g?
Can you draw a continuous line through 16 numbers on this grid so
that the total of the numbers you pass through is as high as
Investigate what happens when you add house numbers along a street
in different ways.
There are over sixty different ways of making 24 by adding,
subtracting, multiplying and dividing all four numbers 4, 6, 6 and
8 (using each number only once). How many can you find?
On the planet Vuv there are two sorts of creatures. The Zios have 3 legs and the Zepts have 7 legs. The great planetary explorer Nico counted 52 legs. How many Zios and how many Zepts were there?
Put a number at the top of the machine and collect a number at the
bottom. What do you get? Which numbers get back to themselves?
This number has 903 digits. What is the sum of all 903 digits?
Put the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 into the squares so that the
numbers on each circle add up to the same amount. Can you find the
rule for giving another set of six numbers?
Max and Mandy put their number lines together to make a graph. How
far had each of them moved along and up from 0 to get the counter
to the place marked?
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷)
to make these digits come to 100.
The picture shows a lighthouse and many underwater creatures. If
you know the markings on the lighthouse are 1m apart, can you work
out the distances between some of the different creatures?
Find another number that is one short of a square number and when
you double it and add 1, the result is also a square number.
A lady has a steel rod and a wooden pole and she knows the length
of each. How can she measure out an 8 unit piece of pole?
Find out why these matrices are magic. Can you work out how they were made? Can you make your own Magic Matrix?
Can you design a new shape for the twenty-eight squares and arrange
the numbers in a logical way? What patterns do you notice?
Number problems at primary level to work on with others.
We can arrange dots in a similar way to the 5 on a dice and they
usually sit quite well into a rectangular shape. How many
altogether in this 3 by 5? What happens for other sizes?
Investigate the different distances of these car journeys and find
out how long they take.
These alphabet bricks are painted in a special way. A is on one
brick, B on two bricks, and so on. How many bricks will be painted
by the time they have got to other letters of the alphabet?