EWWNP means Exploring Wild and Wonderful Number Patterns Created by Yourself! Investigate what happens if we create number patterns using some simple rules.
On a calculator, make 15 by using only the 2 key and any of the
four operations keys. How many ways can you find to do it?
Find another number that is one short of a square number and when
you double it and add 1, the result is also a square number.
If the numbers 5, 7 and 4 go into this function machine, what
numbers will come out?
In this investigation, you are challenged to make mobile phone
numbers which are easy to remember. What happens if you make a
sequence adding 2 each time?
Find the next number in this pattern: 3, 7, 19, 55 ...
These sixteen children are standing in four lines of four, one behind the other. They are each holding a card with a number on it. Can you work out the missing numbers?
Bernard Bagnall recommends some primary school problems which use
numbers from the environment around us, from clocks to house
Look on the back of any modern book and you will find an ISBN code. Take this code and calculate this sum in the way shown. Can you see what the answers always have in common?
Put a number at the top of the machine and collect a number at the
bottom. What do you get? Which numbers get back to themselves?
Can you arrange 5 different digits (from 0 - 9) in the cross in the
On my calculator I divided one whole number by another whole number and got the answer 3.125. If the numbers are both under 50, what are they?
Find at least one way to put in some operation signs (+ - x ÷)
to make these digits come to 100.
This problem is based on the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Investigate the different numbers of people and rats there could have been if you know how many legs there are altogether!
Put operations signs between the numbers 3 4 5 6 to make the highest possible number and lowest possible number.
Ben’s class were cutting up number tracks. First they cut them into twos and added up the numbers on each piece. What patterns could they see?
Use your logical-thinking skills to deduce how much Dan's crisps and ice-cream cost altogether.
Here are the prices for 1st and 2nd class mail within the UK. You have an unlimited number of each of these stamps. Which stamps would you need to post a parcel weighing 825g?
The Scot, John Napier, invented these strips about 400 years ago to
help calculate multiplication and division. Can you work out how to
use Napier's bones to find the answer to these multiplications?
On the planet Vuv there are two sorts of creatures. The Zios have 3 legs and the Zepts have 7 legs. The great planetary explorer Nico counted 52 legs. How many Zios and how many Zepts were there?
Use the information to work out how many gifts there are in each
This magic square has operations written in it, to make it into a
maze. Start wherever you like, go through every cell and go out a
total of 15!
Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
Mr. Sunshine tells the children they will have 2 hours of homework.
After several calculations, Harry says he hasn't got time to do
this homework. Can you see where his reasoning is wrong?
On the table there is a pile of oranges and lemons that weighs
exactly one kilogram. Using the information, can you work out how
many lemons there are?
Use 4 four times with simple operations so that you get the answer 12. Can you make 15, 16 and 17 too?
Find out what a Deca Tree is and then work out how many leaves
there will be after the woodcutter has cut off a trunk, a branch, a
twig and a leaf.
Where can you draw a line on a clock face so that the numbers on
both sides have the same total?
Zumf makes spectacles for the residents of the planet Zargon, who
have either 3 eyes or 4 eyes. How many lenses will Zumf need to
make all the different orders for 9 families?
There is a clock-face where the numbers have become all mixed up. Can you find out where all the numbers have got to from these ten statements?
Find the product of the numbers on the routes from A to B. Which
route has the smallest product? Which the largest?
A game for 2 people. Use your skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to blast the asteroids.
Go through the maze, collecting and losing your money as you go.
Which route gives you the highest return? And the lowest?
What happens when you add the digits of a number then multiply the result by 2 and you keep doing this? You could try for different numbers and different rules.
Explore Alex's number plumber. What questions would you like to ask? Don't forget to keep visiting NRICH projects site for the latest developments and questions.
This group activity will encourage you to share calculation strategies and to think about which strategy might be the most efficient.
How would you count the number of fingers in these pictures?
Can you find which shapes you need to put into the grid to make the
totals at the end of each row and the bottom of each column?
Tom and Ben visited Numberland. Use the maps to work out the number of points each of their routes scores.
This task combines spatial awareness with addition and multiplication.
This challenge combines addition, multiplication, perseverance and even proof.
Explore Alex's number plumber. What questions would you like to ask? What do you think is happening to the numbers?
Skippy and Anna are locked in a room in a large castle. The key to that room, and all the other rooms, is a number. The numbers are locked away in a problem. Can you help them to get out?
If the answer's 2010, what could the question be?
If you had any number of ordinary dice, what are the possible ways
of making their totals 6? What would the product of the dice be
Use your logical reasoning to work out how many cows and how many
sheep there are in each field.
Using the statements, can you work out how many of each type of
rabbit there are in these pens?
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?
Well now, what would happen if we lost all the nines in our number
system? Have a go at writing the numbers out in this way and have a
look at the multiplications table.
This number has 903 digits. What is the sum of all 903 digits?