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One Wasn't Square

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Primary curriculum
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Mrs Morgan, the class teacher, pinned numbers onto the backs of three children: Mona, Bob and Jamie.

"Now," she said, "Those three numbers add to a special kind of number. What is it?"

Michael put his hand up.

"It's a square number," he answered.

"Correct," smiled Mrs Morgan.

"Oh!" exclaimed Mona, "The two numbers I can see also add to a square!"

"And me!" called out Bob, "The two numbers I can see add to a square too!"

"Oh dear," said Jamie disappointedly, "the two numbers I can see don't add to a square! It's either 5 too little or 6 too big!"

What numbers did the three children have on their backs?

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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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