Visualising and representing

  • Chess
    problem

    Chess

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    What would be the smallest number of moves needed to move a Knight from a chess set from one corner to the opposite corner of a 99 by 99 square board?
  • Tic Tac Toe
    problem

    Tic Tac Toe

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    In the game of Noughts and Crosses there are 8 distinct winning lines. How many distinct winning lines are there in a game played on a 3 by 3 by 3 board, with 27 cells?
  • Crossing the Atlantic
    problem

    Crossing the Atlantic

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    Every day at noon a boat leaves Le Havre for New York while another boat leaves New York for Le Havre. The ocean crossing takes seven days. How many boats will each boat cross during their journey?
  • Friday 13th
    problem

    Friday 13th

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    Can you explain why every year must contain at least one Friday the thirteenth?
  • Escalator
    problem

    Escalator

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    At Holborn underground station there is a very long escalator. Two people are in a hurry and so climb the escalator as it is moving upwards, thus adding their speed to that of the moving steps. ... How many steps are there on the escalator?
  • Paving Paths
    problem

    Paving Paths

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    How many different ways can I lay 10 paving slabs, each 2 foot by 1 foot, to make a path 2 foot wide and 10 foot long from my back door into my garden, without cutting any of the paving slabs?
  • Tetra Square
    problem

    Tetra Square

    Age
    14 to 18
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    ABCD is a regular tetrahedron and the points P, Q, R and S are the midpoints of the edges AB, BD, CD and CA. Prove that PQRS is a square.
  • Cogs
    problem

    Cogs

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    A and B are two interlocking cogwheels having p teeth and q teeth respectively. One tooth on B is painted red. Find the values of p and q for which the red tooth on B contacts every gap on the cogwheel A as the wheels rotate.
  • Concrete calculation
    problem

    Concrete Calculation

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    The builders have dug a hole in the ground to be filled with concrete for the foundations of our garage. How many cubic metres of ready-mix concrete should the builders order to fill this hole to make the concrete raft for the foundations?
  • Tilting Triangles
    problem

    Tilting Triangles

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
    2 out of 3
    A right-angled isosceles triangle is rotated about the centre point of a square. What can you say about the area of the part of the square covered by the triangle as it rotates?