Skip over navigation
You might like to have a look at Button-up before trying this problem.
I have a jacket which has four buttons.
Sometimes, I do the buttons up starting with the top button. Sometimes, I start somewhere else.
How many different ways of buttoning it up can you find?
Look back at the number of different ways you found for buttoning up three buttons and four buttons.
Can you predict the number of ways of buttoning up a coat with five buttons?
Six buttons ...?
Button-up Some More
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level 
You might like to have a look at Button-up before trying this problem.
I have a jacket which has four buttons.
Sometimes, I do the buttons up starting with the top button. Sometimes, I start somewhere else.
How many different ways of buttoning it up can you find?
Look back at the number of different ways you found for buttoning up three buttons and four buttons.
Can you predict the number of ways of buttoning up a coat with five buttons?
Six buttons ...?
This problem was inspired by an idea from Bernard Murphy.
You may also like
Counting Counters
Take a counter and surround it by a ring of other counters that MUST touch two others. How many are needed?
Cuisenaire Squares
These squares have been made from Cuisenaire rods. Can you describe the pattern? What would the next square look like?
Doplication
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?