Transum Maths Software

Number

There are 366 different Starters of The Day, many to choose from. You will find in the left column below some starters on the topic of Number. In the right column below are links to related online activities, videos and teacher resources.

A lesson starter does not have to be on the same topic as the main part of the lesson or the topic of the previous lesson. It is often very useful to revise or explore other concepts by using a starter based on a totally different area of Mathematics.

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Number Starters:

A Very Strange Game

Four different actions depending on the number which appears.

Abundant Buses

A game based around the concept of factors and abundant numbers.

Add 'em

Add up a sequence of consecutive numbers. Can you find a quick way to do it?

All The Nines

Add up all the multiples of nine in an elegant way.

Ancient Mysteries

This activity requires students to memorise fifteen numbers in a three by five grid.

Aunt Sophie's Post Office

Work out the number of stamps needed to post a parcel.

Birthday Clues

Work out the date Will was born by answering some number questions.

Can You Decide?

Recognise odd, even, square, prime and triangular numbers.

Christmas Bells

If all the bells ring together at noon, at what time will they next all ring together? This problem requires the use of LCM.

Christmas Eve

Is there a pattern in the number of palindromic numbers to be found less than powers of 10?

ClockEquate

Can you use the digits on the left of this clock along with any mathematical operations to equal the digits on the right?

Coins in Envelopes

Fifteen pennies are placed in four envelopes and the envelopes are sealed. It is possible to pay someone any amount from 1p to 15p by giving them one or more envelopes.

Consecutive Squares

What do you notice about the difference between the squares of consecutive numbers?

Dancing

Work out how many people were at the dance from the clues given.

Dice Nets

Determine whether the given nets would fold to produce a dice.

Dimidiate

Arrange the digits from 1 to 9 in alphabetical order. How many times can this number be halved?

Divided Age

How old is a person if when her age is divided by certain numbers, the calculator display ending are as shown.

Double Trouble

Begin with one, double it, double it again and so on. How many numbers in this sequence can you write down before the register has been called?

Factuples

Spot the factors and the multiples amongst the numbers in the grid.

Flabbergasted

If each number in a sequence must be a factor or multiple of the previous number what is the longest sequence that can be made from the given numbers?

Flowchart

Use the flowchart to generate a sequence of numbers. Which number will reach 1 the fastest?

Four Factors

Find four single digit numbers that multiply together to give 120. How many different ways are there of answering this question?

Four Problems

For mathematical questions to get everyone thinking at the beginning of the lesson.

Halve it

Start with 512. Halve it to get 256. Halve it to get 128. Continue as far as possible.

Handshakes

If all the students in this room shook hands with each other, how many handshakes would there be altogether?

Hot Numbers

Move the numbered cards to form five 2 digit numbers which are all multiples of three.

Hotel Digital

A puzzle about the lifts in a hotel which serve floors based on the day of the week.

House Numbers

The numbers on five houses next to each other add up to 70. What are those five numbers?

Inbetween Table

Write down as many multiples of 3.5 as possible in 3.5 minutes.

Last Day

The 31st of December is the last day of the year. What mathematical lasts do you know?

Leap Year

A question about the birthdays of a child born on the 29th February.

Letters in a Number

Questions about the number of letters in numbers.

Meta Products

Which numbers when multiplied by the number of letters in the word(s) of the number give square numbers?

Missing Terms

Find the missing terms from these linear sequences.

Name Again

Work out what the nth letter will be in a recurring pattern of letters in a person's name

Negative Numbers

Perform calculations involving negative numbers

No Partner

Find which numbers in a given list do not combine with other numbers on the list to make a given sum.

Number Riddles

Can you work out the numbers from the given clues.

Numbers in words

Write out in words some numbers writen as digits (optional pirate theme)

Odd One Out

From the numbers given, find the one that is the odd one out.

Only One Number

Find other numbers that can be changed to 1 on a calculator using only the 4 key and any operation.

Pears Make Squares

Find three numbers such that each pair of numbers adds up to a square number.

Perfect Numbers

Six is a perfect number as it is the sum of its factors. Can you find any other perfect numbers?

Plane Numbers

Arrange numbers on the plane shaped grid to produce the given totals

Pyramid Puzzle

Arrange numbers at the bottom of the pyramid which will give the largest total at the top.

Register

When the register is called answer with a multiple of 7.

Ropey Snowballs

Arrange the numbers on the snowballs so that no two consecutive numbers are directly connected by rope.

Satisfaction

Rearrange the numbers, row and column headings so that this table is mathematically correct.

Scaramouche

Can you work out from the five clues given what the mystery number is?

Seeing Squares

How many square numbers can be found in the grid of digits.

Sign Sequences

Continue the sequences if you can work out the rule.

Simple Nim

The classic game of Nim played with a group of pens and pencils. The game can be extended to the multi-pile version.

Small Satisfaction

Arrange the digits one to nine in the grid so that they obey the row and column headings.

Square and Even

Arrange the numbers on the cards so that each of the three digit numbers formed horizontally are square numbers and each of the three digit numbers formed vertically are even.

Square Angles

Find a trapezium, a triangle and a quadrilateral where all of the angles are square numbers.

Square Christmas Tree

Draw a picture of a Christmas tree using only square numbers.

Square Pairs

Arrange the numbered trees so that adjacent sums are square numbers.

Square Sequence

Write out as many square numbers as possible in 4 minutes.

Squigits

A challenge to find numbers which have each of their digits as square numbers.

The Power of Christmas

Find a power of 2 and a power of 3 that are consecutive numbers.

The story of ...

Be creative and come up with as many facts about a number as you can think of.

Tindice

How can you put the dice into the tins so that there is an odd number of dice in each tin?

Twelve Days

A Maths puzzle based on the 12 Days of Christmas song.

Two Numbers

Find the two numbers whose sum and product are given.

Upside Number

Work out the phone number from the clues given.

Venn Diagram

Arrange numbers on the Venn Diagram according to their properties.

What are they?

A starter about sums, products, differences, ratios, square and prime numbers.

Advanced Number Starters

 

Other activities for this topic | | |  Complete Index of Starters

Featured Activity

Connect 4 Factors

Connect 4 Factors

A mathematical version of the popular Connect 4 game based on getting four numbers with a common factor in a line. Fun for one, two or a whole class of pupils.

 

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