Odds and Even
This NRICH maths task offers a good way to reinforce number properties at the same time as encouraging pupils to think about likelihood. It offers an opportunity to explore and discuss two types of probability: experimental and theoretical. The simulation generates lots of experimental data quickly, freeing time to focus on predictions,…
M, M and M
This maths problem from NRICH offers the students an opportunity to consolidate what they are expected to know about mean, mode and median whilst also challenging them to work systematically, and justify their reasoning. This problem asks which set of five positive whole numbers have the following properties: Mean = 4 Median…
Route to Infinity
This NRICH maths activity offers a good opportunity for students to discuss images and find convincing arguments for their solutions in the context of co-ordinates. It can also provide a metaphor for problem solving - when you think you have seen all that is there, look again.
Semi-Regular Tessellations
This NRICH maths challenge could prove suitable for students who have learnt how to work out the angles of regular polygons This activity supports the idea that the interior angles of regular polygons are a crucial factor in determining whether the regular polygons will fit together or not. Students are asked to work on paper…
3/5- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Interactive resource
Diamond Collector
In the context of a game, this NRICH maths problem invites students to identify straight lines and state their equations. Many students can identify some of the lines easily (e.g. horizontal), but there is an incentive to learn about 'harder' lines. Semi-regular Tessellations could provide a suitable challenge to students…
- 3/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Game
Temperature
This maths problem from NRICH allows the student to explore the relationships within the temperature scales. As well as developing a better understanding of temperature, this problem presents a number of ways in which it can be solved (trial and improvement, graphically, algebraically) so can offer a useful opportunity for discussing…
Got It
GOT IT is an adding game from NRICH for two players. It is in a motivating context in which learners can apply basic addition and subtraction. You can play against the computer or with a friend. Start with the GOT IT target 23. The real challenge here is to find a winning strategy that always works and this involves conjecturing,…
- 4/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Game
Peaches Today, Peaches Tomorrow
This NRICH maths problem could replace repetitive textbook work on calculating fractions of integers. It offers plenty of practice of these calculations while requiring students to come up with problem-solving strategies. It offers a good context for thinking about factors of numbers.
Which Spinners?
This NRICH maths activity is intended for students who are already familiar with sample space diagrams. The interactive file offers an ideal context in which to consider the messy randomness of experimental results and the certainty of the long run results. Working backwards from the graphs should help students notice more features…
In a Box
This maths problem from NRICH offers opportunities to consider different methods of listing systematically in the context of probability. Students will have to play a game making decisions about its fairness. This problem can be used to introduce or revisit sample space diagrams, and with some students, tree diagrams.
Of All the Areas
This NRICH mathematical problem is about the areas of equilateral triangles. Students will need to measure the area different triangles but in triangles rather than squares. They will need to look for any emerging patterns which might lead to non-linear sequences that need explanation. They will need to use their visualising skills…
Cyclic Quadrilaterals
In this maths problem from NRICH, students will be working with cyclic quadrilaterals. A cyclic quadrilateral is a quadrilateral whose vertices lie on a circle. This maths problem from NRICH is in two parts. The first part consists of four similar challenges which provide building blocks to help you to solve the final challenge.…
Maths Filler
This NRICH maths problem explores the way the water level in a vessel changes when water is added at a constant rate. Students will have to work out volumes of containers, make generalisations about the cross-sectional areas and the volumes, they can then, through analysing the key features of a graph, figure out the shape of the…
Pair Products
This maths investigation from NRICH explores the properties of consecutive numbers under multiplication. For students who are working numerically, this is an excellent context for observing, conjecturing and thinking about proof. It can be a good introduction to the power of algebra. For students who are algebraically fluent,…
- 5/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Activity sheet
Fair Shares
This NRICH maths activity starts with a simple situation which can be analysed quickly using mental methods, but which provides a starting point for tackling a more challenging problem. The challenge of finding a connection between the number of children, the amount of money they each receive, and the fraction used to share the…
Plus Minus
In this NRICH maths activity a student has been looking at the difference of the squares of pairs of two-digit numbers. She has collected together some answers which she found quite surprising. This problem offers students a chance to discover the identity for the difference of two square numbers. They are expected to work as research…
What's Possible
This NRICH maths activity follows on from Plus Minus by asking students to find which numbers can be expressed as the difference of two square numbers. Many numbers can be expressed as the difference of two perfect squares. How many of the numbers from 1 to 20 can you express as the difference of two perfect squares? Following…