In this fun and engaging Eights Number Challenge, you must use exactly four eights and your choice of arithmetical symbols to form the eight given target numbers. What is the Eights Challenge? Using exactly four eights, add arithmetical symbols between the eights to make each of the target numbers. You may use plus, minus, times, …
Puzzles Related to Math Content
Can you place the numbers 1 to 5 in the correct places to solve the equal sums puzzle?
In this fun and engaging Sevens Number Challenge, you must use exactly four sevens and your choice of arithmetical symbols to form the eight given target numbers. What is the Sevens Challenge? Using exactly four sevens, add arithmetical symbols between the sevens to make each of the target numbers. You may use plus, minus, times, …
This collection of order of operations puzzles will give your students plenty of puzzling fun while applying the order of operations to a large number of numerical expressions. Each order of operations puzzle is available to download as a free PDF so you can easily implement the puzzle in your upper elementary, middle school, or …
The 2024 math challenge is a simple to explain puzzle that will keep you captivated for hours. Using the digits in the current year exactly one time each, can you write a mathematical expression for each digit between 1 and 100? You may use any mathematical symbol or operation of your choosing. What is the …
Put your math skills to the test with this Christmas number challenge involving the digits in 12-25. Can you use the digits 1, 2, 2, and 5 to create expressions equivalent to each number between 1 and 25? I was inspired by the great success of the 3-1-4 Pi Day Number Challenge, and I wanted …
Are you ready to take on the Sixes Challenge? You must use exactly four sixes and your choice of arithmetical symbols to form the eight given target numbers. What is the Sixes Challenge? Using exactly four sixes, add arithmetical symbols between the sixes to make each of the target numbers. You may use plus, minus, …
Can you solve the Fives Challenge? Can you use exactly four fives and your choice of arithmetical symbols to form the target numbers? What is the Fives Challenge? Using exactly four fives, add arithmetical symbols between the fives to make each of the target numbers. You may use plus, minus, times, and divide symbols, as …
This 3-1-4 Number Challenge is the perfect way to challenge your brain on Pi Day! How many different numbers can you come up with mathematical expressions for using only the digits 3, 1, and 4? Instructions Use the digits 3, 1, and 4 exactly one time each along with any mathematical symbol or operation of …
Can you solve the Fours Challenge? Can you use exactly four fours and your choice of arithmetical symbols to form the target numbers? What is the Fours Challenge? Using exactly four fours, add arithmetical symbols between the fours to make each of the target numbers. You may use plus, minus, times, and divide symbols, as …
Can you solve the Threes Challenge? Can you use exactly four threes and your choice of arithmetical symbols to form the target numbers? What is the Threes Challenge? Using exactly four threes, add arithmetical symbols between the threes to make each of the target numbers. You may use plus, minus, times, and divide symbols, as …
Can you solve the Twos Challenge? Can you use exactly four twos and your choice of arithmetical symbols to form the target numbers? Even though Twosday (2/22/22) was nine months ago, I still have lots of blog traffic to the Twosday Challenge. I decided it was time to share a version of the challenge that …
Looking for fun and engaging geometry puzzles? Here is a collection of 25 free printable geometric puzzles that I have used in the past with my high school math students. Most of these puzzles should be appropriate to use with individuals ranging in age from upper elementary school or middle school to adults. My students’ …
This Twosday Challenge is the perfect way to infuse a bit of mathematical fun on an upcoming mathematical holiday – Twosday! What is Twosday? Twosday is the name being given to Tuesday, February 22, 2022 since the date will be written as 2/22/22 in the US and 22/2/22 in much of the rest of the …
Sankaku puzzles are a geometric based logic puzzle that focuses on finding the area of a triangle. The goal of each puzzle is to connect three dots to form a triangle with the specified area. Sankaku puzzles are the creation of Naoki Inaba, a prolific Japanese puzzle creator. I first discovered these puzzles several years …
I’ve been having a lot of fun recently posting these Make 30 Puzzles for my students to tackle on a daily basis. The goal of these Make 30 puzzles is to arrange the digits and any of the arithmetic operations to form an expression that evaluates to 30. For example, the digits 0, 2, and …
This tricky triangles puzzle has been around for over a century – can you arrange these eight sticks to form exactly four triangles and two squares? The original puzzle was meant to be solved with matchsticks, but I don’t think I need to explain why I won’t be giving my students matchsticks to play with… …
It’s November which means it’s finally time to pull out this Triangular Turkey puzzle for Thanksgiving. How many different triangles can you find in this picture of a Thanksgiving turkey? I ran across this triangular turkey puzzle in a Martin Gardner book (Perplexing Puzzles and Tantalizing Teasers) this summer, and I knew I had to …
Check out this simple sums puzzle if you are looking for a fun opening activity or a brain break. Insert any of the following signs (add, subtract, multiply, divide, or parentheses) between any numbers on the left of the equations to make them correct. You may join numbers on the left together if you wish: …
The Number Strips Puzzle asks: Can you rearrange the order of the seven strips so that each row contains a correct mathematical statement? Note that the strips containing operators can be inverted if necessary. I found this number strips puzzle in Ivan Moscovich’s The Big Book of Brain Games. This book weighs several pounds and …
In this Congruent Shapes Puzzle, students are given two colors of puzzle pieces. The task is to arrange the two colors of pieces to form two congruent shapes. You can rotate pieces and flip them over but not overlap them. This Congruent Shapes Puzzle is the creation of the brilliant Erich Friedman and can be …
This summer I typed up this Fitting Shapes Puzzle. Can you fit the six shapes into the board without overlap? I found this puzzle in The Big Book of Brain Games by Ivan Moscovich. This book seriously weighs several pounds, and it has 1000 puzzles in it. Several blog readers have shared with me that …
I’m excited to get back to featuring a new puzzle of the week every week in my classroom this year. A new puzzle I have prepped for this year is called Three of Five. Three of these five figures fit together to create a triangle. Which ones are they? I ran across this puzzle in …
A couple of years ago, I created this trigonometry puzzle to keep my students busy when we unexpectedly finished our lesson with more time to spare than I had planned. This trigonometry puzzle is really the Twisted Wires Puzzle by Cliff Pickover in disguise. To keep my students from googling the puzzle (as they have …
I created this set of four set notation puzzles to give my Algebra 2 students practice with set notation. I sadly didn’t end up getting to use them this year due to COVID restrictions. Each of the sets puzzles features a half-sheet of paper with four sets (A, B, C, and D). There are 15 …