Use the interactivity to listen to the bells ringing a pattern. Now
it's your turn! Play one of the bells yourself. How do you know
when it is your turn to ring?
Use the interactivity to play two of the bells in a pattern. How do
you know when it is your turn to ring, and how do you know which
bell to ring?
An irregular tetrahedron is composed of four different triangles.
Can such a tetrahedron be constructed where the side lengths are 4,
5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 units of length?
The number of plants in Mr McGregor's magic potting shed increases
overnight. He'd like to put the same number of plants in each of
his gardens, planting one garden each day. How can he do it?
You have been given nine weights, one of which is slightly heavier
than the rest. Can you work out which weight is heavier in just two
weighings of the balance?
Find out about Magic Squares in this article written for students. Why are they magic?!
This article for teachers describes several games, found on the
site, all of which have a related structure that can be used to
develop the skills of strategic planning.
This second Sudoku article discusses "Corresponding Sudokus" which are pairs of Sudokus with terms that can be matched using a substitution rule.
Two sudokus in one. Challenge yourself to make the necessary
Starting with four different triangles, imagine you have an
unlimited number of each type. How many different tetrahedra can
you make? Convince us you have found them all.
The NRICH team are always looking for new ways to engage teachers
and pupils in problem solving. Here we explain the thinking behind
The idea of this game is to add or subtract the two numbers on the dice and cover the result on the grid, trying to get a line of three. Are there some numbers that are good to aim for?
Given the nets of 4 cubes with the faces coloured in 4 colours, build a tower so that on each vertical wall no colour is repeated, that is all 4 colours appear.
Solve this Sudoku puzzle whose clues are in the form of sums of the
numbers which should appear in diagonal opposite cells.
A Sudoku with a twist.
A game for 2 people. Take turns placing a counter on the star. You win when you have completed a line of 3 in your colour.
Mr McGregor has a magic potting shed. Overnight, the number of
plants in it doubles. He'd like to put the same number of plants in
each of three gardens, planting one garden each day. Can he do it?
Four numbers on an intersection that need to be placed in the
surrounding cells. That is all you need to know to solve this
Many numbers can be expressed as the sum of two or more consecutive integers. For example, 15=7+8 and 10=1+2+3+4. Can you say which numbers can be expressed in this way?
A Sudoku that uses transformations as supporting clues.
There are nine teddies in Teddy Town - three red, three blue and three yellow. There are also nine houses, three of each colour. Can you put them on the map of Teddy Town according to the rules?
A Sudoku with clues as ratios.
This pair of linked Sudokus matches letters with numbers and hides a seasonal greeting. Can you find it?
Can you coach your rowing eight to win?
Find out what a "fault-free" rectangle is and try to make some of
A Sudoku with clues given as sums of entries.
A Sudoku with clues as ratios or fractions.
Draw some isosceles triangles with an area of $9$cm$^2$ and a vertex at (20,20). If all the vertices must have whole number coordinates, how many is it possible to draw?
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?
Bellringers have a special way to write down the patterns they
ring. Learn about these patterns and draw some of your own.
Can you arrange the numbers 1 to 17 in a row so that each adjacent
pair adds up to a square number?
First Connect Three game for an adult and child. Use the dice numbers and either addition or subtraction to get three numbers in a straight line.
This sudoku requires you to have "double vision" - two Sudoku's for
the price of one
There are 4 jugs which hold 9 litres, 7 litres, 4 litres and 2
litres. Find a way to pour 9 litres of drink from one jug to
another until you are left with exactly 3 litres in three of the
Can you recreate these designs? What are the basic units? What
movement is required between each unit? Some elegant use of
procedures will help - variables not essential.
Place the numbers 1 to 10 in the circles so that each number is the
difference between the two numbers just below it.
In this matching game, you have to decide how long different events take.
A few extra challenges set by some young NRICH members.
An investigation involving adding and subtracting sets of consecutive numbers. Lots to find out, lots to explore.
This is a variation of sudoku which contains a set of special clue-numbers. Each set of 4 small digits stands for the numbers in the four cells of the grid adjacent to this set.
An extra constraint means this Sudoku requires you to think in
diagonals as well as horizontal and vertical lines and boxes of
This Sudoku, based on differences. Using the one clue number can you find the solution?
Can you find all the different ways of lining up these Cuisenaire
Here you see the front and back views of a dodecahedron. Each
vertex has been numbered so that the numbers around each pentagonal
face add up to 65. Can you find all the missing numbers?
Investigate the different ways you could split up these rooms so
that you have double the number.
You have two egg timers. One takes 4 minutes exactly to empty and
the other takes 7 minutes. What times in whole minutes can you
measure and how?
Place the numbers 1 to 8 in the circles so that no consecutive
numbers are joined by a line.