For this challenge, you'll need to play Got It! Can you explain the strategy for winning this game with any target?
I throw three dice and get 5, 3 and 2. Add the scores on the three
dice. What do you get? Now multiply the scores. What do you notice?
This challenge combines addition, multiplication, perseverance and even proof.
There is a clock-face where the numbers have become all mixed up. Can you find out where all the numbers have got to from these ten statements?
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 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.
Do you notice anything about the solutions when you add and/or
subtract consecutive negative numbers?
Use 4 four times with simple operations so that you get the answer 12. Can you make 15, 16 and 17 too?
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷)
to make these digits come to 100.
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
What is the sum of all the three digit whole numbers?
Look on the back of any modern book and you will find an ISBN code. Take this code and calculate this sum in the way shown. Can you see what the answers always have in common?
In a square in which the houses are evenly spaced, numbers 3 and 10
are opposite each other. What is the smallest and what is the
largest possible number of houses in the square?
Find the sum of all three-digit numbers each of whose digits is
48 is called an abundant number because it is less than the sum of
its factors (without itself). Can you find some more abundant
Number problems at primary level that may require determination.
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.
This dice train has been made using specific rules. How many different trains can you make?
Got It game for an adult and child. How can you play so that you know you will always win?
This task combines spatial awareness with addition and multiplication.
Can you find all the ways to get 15 at the top of this triangle of numbers?
This task follows on from Build it Up and takes the ideas into three dimensions!
Find the sum and difference between a pair of two-digit numbers. Now find the sum and difference between the sum and difference! What happens?
This challenge focuses on finding the sum and difference of pairs of two-digit numbers.
Can you put the numbers 1-5 in the V shape so that both 'arms' have the same total?
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?
Here is a chance to play a version of the classic Countdown Game.
If you take a three by three square on a 1-10 addition square and
multiply the diagonally opposite numbers together, what is the
difference between these products. Why?
Tom and Ben visited Numberland. Use the maps to work out the number
of points each of their routes scores.
Ben’s class were cutting up number tracks. First they cut them into twos and added up the numbers on each piece. What patterns could they see?
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?
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?
If you had any number of ordinary dice, what are the possible ways
of making their totals 6? What would the product of the dice be
In a Magic Square all the rows, columns and diagonals add to the 'Magic Constant'. How would you change the magic constant of this square?
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?
Can you design a new shape for the twenty-eight squares and arrange
the numbers in a logical way? What patterns do you notice?
Make your own double-sided magic square. But can you complete both
sides once you've made the pieces?
What do you notice about the date 03.06.09? Or 08.01.09? This
challenge invites you to investigate some interesting dates
Cherri, Saxon, Mel and Paul are friends. They are all different
ages. Can you find out the age of each friend using the
If you have only four weights, where could you place them in order
to balance this equaliser?
The value of the circle changes in each of the following problems. Can you discover its value in each problem?
Can you score 100 by throwing rings on this board? Is there more
than way to do it?
Katie had a pack of 20 cards numbered from 1 to 20. She arranged
the cards into 6 unequal piles where each pile added to the same
total. What was the total and how could this be done?
Number problems at primary level to work on with others.
Find the next number in this pattern: 3, 7, 19, 55 ...
How could you put eight beanbags in the hoops so that there are
four in the blue hoop, five in the red and six in the yellow? Can
you find all the ways of doing this?
Crosses can be drawn on number grids of various sizes. What do you notice when you add opposite ends?
There are 4 jugs which hold 9 litres, 7 litres, 4 litres and 2
litres. Find a way to pour 9 litres of drink from one jug to
another until you are left with exactly 3 litres in three of the
Can you make square numbers by adding two prime numbers together?
How would you count the number of fingers in these pictures?