Please bare in mind that this is a new site which will grow over
time. Until we
fully resource the site, we are happy to direct you to other sites of interest.
The following sites
are interactive and well worth a visit.
They in turn may direct you to yet more sites of interest – happy
puzzling! To return to this site from
others you may visit, simply use the Back button on the top left on your
browsers’ toolbar.
www.cut-the-knot.org/games.shtml for a brief description
www.m-a.org.uk/assoc/links/recr-1.htm of each site see
below
For some problems
requiring pencil and paper and some lateral thinking try:
There are fifteen
other sites recommended on the resources page – for a brief description of them
select resources.
The following 6 sets of problems are a little more tricky than they first appear – beware! Each of these sets has five questions, and
you’ll need pencil and paper for them.
Choose a set of problems, or visit the other sites
suggested and try their problems and puzzles.
[Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6]
www.cut-the-knot.org/games.shtml
This page contains
58 games and puzzles ranging from simple to difficult. It can be for one player (such as Circles and
Squares, Squares Circles and Triangles and the Plus and Minus game) Some of the other
games can be quite demanding, but the three mentioned are colourful,
interactive and enjoyable.
www.m-a.org.uk/assoc/links/recr-1.htm
(the
maths association website which contains hundreds of useful links to sites of
interest in all areas of maths. This
link takes you directly to the recreational maths page which lists lots of
puzzles and quizzes. Try the connect
four game its quite a challenge to beat the computer!)
Tangrams Take
a square, cut it into the seven pieces shown right, and use these pieces to
make hundreds of different new shapes. Ancient
Chinese moving piece puzzle, consisting of 7 geometric shapes. .
an excellent site with over 300 different shapes and figures which can be
made from the 7 basic shapes. Try and
make the suggested shapes, or create a new one of your own. Excellent fun – on line
solutions if you get stuck.
Can you solve the puzzle on the left? Grab yourself some cocktail sticks and
visit cocktail world at the The solutions are on line.
www.madras.fife.sch.uk/maths/toothpickworld/index.html
(Madras college
maths site – many good puzzles esp. the cocktail sticks!)
for other
interactive games try:
www.madras.fife.sch.uk/maths/homelearning/mathsgames.html
Something to think about 1
1.
If it takes three and a half minutes
to boil an egg, how long would it take to boil three eggs?
2.
How
much dirt is there in a hole four metres wide by three metres long by six
metres deep?
3.
I have
two coins which total 55p, yet one is not a five pence. What denominations are the two coins?
4.
Several soldiers must cross a deep river at
a point where there is no bridge. The
soldiers spot two children playing in a small rowboat. The rowboat can hold only two children or one
soldier. All the soldiers got across the
river. How?
5.
You have eight coins. Seven are genuine and one is fake. The fake weighs a little less than a genuine
coin. You have a balance scale which you
can only use three times. Explain how
you can locate the bad coin in only three weighings. (then show how to detect the bad coin in only
two weighings)
[Solutions] [Return to Top of
Page] [Set
2]
Something
to think about 2
1. A
hayfield has two haystacks in one corner and four haystacks in another corner. If all the hay is put in the middle of the
field, how many haystacks will there be?
2. What is half of 299?
3. How
many £3 notes are there in a dozen?
4. Which would you rather have,
a trunk full of 50p’s, or a trunk half full of £1 coins?
5. How many times can you subtract 2 from
21?
[Solutions] [Return to Top of Page]
[Set 3]
Something to think about 3
1. You
have 2 jars which can hold 3 litres and 5 litres respectively. There are no marks in either jar. If there is a tap with a plentiful supply of
water, how can you measure out exactly 4 litres.
2. A snail is at the bottom of a 30m
well. Each day he climbs up 3m and each
evening while sleeping, he slips back 2m.
At that rate when will he reach the top?
3. A kilogram of gold weighs the same as a
kilogram of feathers. Right or wrong?
4. The amount of water in a tank doubles every minute. The tank is full in one
hour. When was the tank half full?
5., Which is more likely; to throw a total of
exactly six or seven with two dice, or a total of exactly
eight or nine with two dice?
[Solutions] [Return to Top of Page]
[Set 4]
Something to think about 4
1.
Here are five numbered statements. How
many of them are true?
1.
Exactly one of these statements is false.
2.
Exactly two these statements are false.
3.
Exactly three of these statements are false.
4.
Exactly four of these statements are false.
5.
Exactly five of these statements are false.
2. You have a frying pan which will take only two slices of bread
at a time, and you wish to fry three slices, each on both sides. Since each slice takes 20 seconds for each
side, you can certainly fry them all in 80 seconds, by doing two pieces
together and then the third.
But can you fry them more efficiently?
3. A bottle and its cork cost 21p and the bottle costs 20p more
than the cork. What is the cost of each?
4. A neat computer programmer wears a clean
shirt every day. If he drops off his
laundry and picks up the previous week’s load every Monday night, how many
shirts must he own to keep him going?
5.
With a 7 - minute hourglass and
an 11 - minute hourglass, what is the quickest way to time the boiling of rice
for 15 minutes?
[Solutions] [Return to Top of
Page] [Set
5]
Something to think about 5
1. If it takes a hen and a half a day and a half to lay an egg
and a half, how long does it take three hens to lay three eggs?
2.
An animal lover has seven pets. Some are cats, the rest are dogs.
Each
dog eats five biscuits and each cat four biscuits. Thirty two biscuits in all are eaten. How many dogs and how many cats are there?
3.
An art
dealer bought a painting for £700, sold it for £800, bought it back for £900,
and sold it again for £1000. How much
profit did he make?
4.
In a
knockout hockey tournament there are 32 teams.
What is the total number of matches played by the winners?
5.
In the
above tournament, what is the total numbers of matches played altogether?
[Solutions] [Return to Top of Page]
[Set 6]
Something to think about 6
1.
Some months have 30 days,
some months have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?
2.
A space traveler saw 19
stars. All but 8 disappeared in Black Hole. How many were left?
3.
I have in my hand two
coins, which total 25 p in value. One of the coins is not a 5 p. What are the
two coins?
4.
An archaeologist claimed
he found some gold coins dated 46 B.C. What do you think about this?
5.
One a test, a student
gave the answer 24. The questions was, ‘how many seconds are there in 2 years?”
Give a reason for the answer being marked correct!