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For younger learners

  • Early Years Foundation Stage

Saying What You See - Upper Primary

You and your friends are probably quite good at imagining things and seeing things in lots of different ways. Here you'll put that to use in doing some maths challenges.


Sitting Round the Party Tables

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

Sweets are given out to party-goers in a particular way. Investigate the total number of sweets received by people sitting in different positions.

Square It

Age 11 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow star

Players take it in turns to choose a dot on the grid. The winner is the first to have four dots that can be joined to form a square.

Rectangle Tangle

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

The large rectangle is divided into a series of smaller quadrilaterals and triangles. Can you untangle what fractional part is represented by each of the shapes?

Cuisenaire Spirals

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

Can you make arrange Cuisenaire rods so that they make a 'spiral' with right angles at the corners?

The Numbers Give the Design

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

Make new patterns from simple turning instructions. You can have a go using pencil and paper or with a floor robot.

Fair Feast

Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

Here is a picnic that Petros and Michael are going to share equally. Can you tell us what each of them will have?

Brush Loads

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

How can you arrange the 5 cubes so that you need the smallest number of Brush Loads of paint to cover them? Try with other numbers of cubes as well.

Eye View

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

Why does the tower look a different size in each of these pictures?

Cubes Here and There

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

How many shapes can you build from three red and two green cubes? Can you use what you've found out to predict the number for four red and two green?

Display Boards

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

Design an arrangement of display boards in the school hall which fits the requirements of different people.

Picture a Pyramid ...

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

Imagine a pyramid which is built in square layers of small cubes. If we number the cubes from the top, starting with 1, can you picture which cubes are directly below this first cube?

Ribbon Squares

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star

What is the largest 'ribbon square' you can make? And the smallest? How many different squares can you make altogether?

Fraction Fascination

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star

This problem challenges you to work out what fraction of the whole area of these pictures is taken up by various shapes.

Stick Images

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow star

This task requires learners to explain and help others, asking and answering questions.

Inky Cube

Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star

This cube has ink on each face which leaves marks on paper as it is rolled. Can you work out what is on each face and the route it has taken?

Tumbling Down

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star

Watch this animation. What do you see? Can you explain why this happens?

More of Saying What You See

Age 7 to 11
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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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