This problem provides a gentle introduction to simultaneous equations. Three bags of shopping are shown: two have prices and one does not. The challenge is to find out the price of the final bag of shopping.

These activities, from the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) publication ‘Thinking for Ourselves’, provide a variety of contexts in which students are encouraged to think for themselves.

Activity 1: In the bag – More or less requires students to record how many more or...

This resource, produced by the Centre for Teaching Mathematics at the University of Plymouth, contains ten ‘puzzles to get the brain working!’

Each puzzle is designed to make students think laterally, consider the question carefully and not give the most obvious answer. The puzzles could be used as lesson...

This maths game is designed to help children practice mental multiplication. Each game-board contains a 4 by 4 grid of numbers with a list of red numbers at the side. The numbers in the grid are products and the red numbers are factors. Children take it in turns to find two red numbers which, when multiplied, will...

Cre8ate maths provides these activities which investigate the tessellation of regular polygons and its application in construction. Initially students identify which regular polygons tessellate, providing the opportunity to discuss the interior angles of polygons and...

This resource aimed at primary, contains an interactive spreadsheet containing problems involving time, they include: calculating the length of time for events, calculating the length of day and night given sunrise and sunset times, using a bus timetable to work out...

This resource, aimed at early years and lower primary, contains an interactive spreadsheet designed to illustrate teaching points on the topics of time and money. Ideal for use with the whole class at the start or end of a lesson it provides screens on the following:...

This excel file has separate sheets dealing with various styles of analogue clock face and different levels of difficulty. It begins with a sheet showing times limited to quarter, half and whole hours. The next two sheets have the numbers removed from the clock face....

This resource from TEMI introduces and explores a mathematical 'magic trick' in which the teacher predicts a random number that is generated by students using a series of number grids.

In order to explain the trick, students must use addition, tables and subtraction, as well as exploring number patterns and...

Times tables 7911; students are presented with fifty questions requiring solutions to times tables questions from the 7, 9 and 11 times tables. Students record how long it takes them to complete the task and how many correct answers they score.

Fill in the blanks: presents students with a partially completed...

This challenge links together the topics area and perimeter. The challenge is to find the smallest area that can be enclosed using 12 toothpicks. The mathematical topics required are areas of rectangles and triangles. This resource is suitable for Key Stages 2 and 3.

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In this puzzle students are asked to identify all of the states in a topological map of the United States of America. The resource contains a few hints to help orientate the map, but students will have to be familiar with the original map to complete the task.

The map was produced by Sian Zelbo and Mark Saul...

This SMILE resource contains one pack of games, investigations, worksheets and practical activities supporting the teaching and learning of topology.

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This resource from stats4schools focuses on which attractions in London are the most popular using data from the National Tourist Board covering the years 1994 to 2001. Students can interpret information from tables, manipulate data, investigate tourism and plan a visit to London.

The resource includes a...

This series of activities from NASA take a mathematical approach to looking at transits, eclipses and occultations. They are intended as supplementary problems for students looking for additional challenges in mathematics and physical science from age 11 to 19 years.

The problems were created to be authentic...