U Sums Puzzle

The U Sums Puzzle is a number-placing puzzle involving the digits from 1 to 7. Can you make each line sum to 12?

Puzzle Instructions

Places the numbers 1 to 7 in the spaces on the U-shaped gameboard so that the sum of the numbers in each of the three lines is equal to 12.

This puzzle is a twist on a magic square puzzle where each row, column, or diagonal in a square have to have the same sum.

Puzzle Source

I ran across this puzzle in a collection of 199 different mathematical puzzles that is offered as a free download from IREM de Lyon. This is a top-notch puzzle resource if you speak French.

The U Sums Puzzle is the 26th puzzle (Trois sommes en U) shared in the downloadable PDF file.

I sadly do not speak French, but I was able to use the Google Translate app to translate quite a few of the puzzle instructions in order to use them in my classroom. Last week, I shared the Magic H Puzzle which is from this same resource.

March 2024 Update: I have also translated the Equal Sums Puzzle and the Lines of 3 Puzzle from the same resource!

Printing and Prepping the Puzzle

Print the puzzle instructions/puzzle board on plain copy paper. The second page of the file contains the number tiles for the numbers from 1-7. I suggest printing these number tiles on colored paper such as Astrobrights.

To make the puzzle pieces more durable, I suggest running the pages through a laminator before using the puzzles with students.

MATH = LOVE RECOMMENDS…

A laminator is a MUST-HAVE for me as a math teacher! I spent my first six years as a teacher at a school with a broken laminator, so I had to find a way to laminate things myself.

I’ve had several laminators over the years. I currently use a Scotch laminator at home and a Swingline laminator at school.

• Scotch Laminator
• Swingline Laminator
• Nuova Laminating Pouches

I highly recommend splurging a bit on the actual laminator and buying the cheapest laminating pouches you can find!

I laminate all of my puzzles, and I am then able to use the same puzzles over and over again for years and years. I currently have some puzzles that I am using for the 7th year in a row!

Tips for Using this Puzzle in the Classroom

I used the U Sums Puzzle with my students several weeks ago as one of our Puzzles of the Week.

I hang my weekly puzzles on the dry erase board in these fabulous magnetic pockets that I ordered from Charles Leonard on Amazon.

When students get to class, they often grab one of the puzzles off the dry erase board and take it to their desk to work on before class starts. Other students gravitate towards the puzzles when they finish early.

This U Sums is definitely on the EASIER side of the puzzles I tend to share here on my blog. This makes it suitable for using as a brain break or a class opener activity since students should need only a few minutes to solve it.