Sum to Thirty Puzzle
I’ve been doing lots of blog reorganization lately which also happens to coincide with organizing some files on my computer and in my classroom. This has led me to discover a pile of puzzles that I created several years ago but have never got around to using with students or sharing here on my blog.
Today I want to share the Sum to Thirty puzzle with you to start rectifying this oversight.
If you’re interested in what I’ve been doing in terms of blog organization, I added several new pages today. While the pages may be new, the content is definitely not new. I’m just needing to find a better way to organize things that have downloadable files to make those files easier to share and for you to find.
If you want a bit of a blast from the past of my first year of teaching, you might want to check out the new pages I created for the Digit Cells Puzzle and A Mathematical Magic Trick.
This puzzle may look familiar because I’ve shared a similar Sum to Twenty puzzle with you before.
These puzzles are by Marcy Cook They were published in “THINK ABOUT IT! Mathematics Problems of the Day” by Creative Publications in 1982. The book is out of print and very hard to find copies of online.
In the Sum to Thirty Puzzle, students are given a 4 x 4 grid that already has six numbers filled in. Their task is to place the numbers 0-9 in the grid so that each row, diagonal, and column sums to 30.
If you like this magic square style puzzle, I also recommend checking out the Big Magic Puzzle.
Interested in even more puzzles? Check out my puzzles page!
Puzzle Solutions
Puzzle solutions are available on a password-protected solution page. I do not openly post the puzzle answer keys because one of my goals as a resource creator is to craft learning experiences for students that are non-google-able. I want teachers to be able to use these puzzles in their classrooms without the solutions being found easily on the Internet.
Please email me at sarah@mathequalslove.net for the password to the answer key database featuring all of my printable puzzles and math worksheets. I frequently have students emailing me for the answer key, so please specify in your email what school you teach at and what subjects you teach. If you do not provide these details, I will not be able to send you the password.
Not a teacher? Go ahead and send me an email as well. Just let me know what you are using the puzzles for. I am continually in awe of how many people are using these puzzles with scouting groups, with senior adults battling dementia, or as fun activities in their workplace. Just give me enough details so I know you are not a student looking for answers to the puzzle that was assigned as their homework!
