7puzzleblog.com

Many thanks to everyone from all corners of the globe for your continued support since April 2012 when this number puzzle blog first appeared.

I hope you have found them useful for a variety of reasons, whether it be at home or in school, or wherever else you wish to do some number-puzzling. This site was initially set up as a bit of fun, but if used regularly can be very useful for revision purposes too when studying mathematics or any other maths-related subjects.

You are welcome to carry on using 7puzzleblog.com for as long as you wish, the brainteasers will always here to use. In April, I will be revamping this blog and re-cycling many of these challenges, so please continue to visit, especially if you have only just found us.

Some of the 1,000 number puzzles at this website are easy and some are very tricky and require a lot of thought! But something you do need in order to solve the vast majority of these is a basic knowledge of number – especially your times tables! A quick recall of these, from 2 to 12, is vital for anyone who wants to progress in maths, even if your sole aim is just to pass an exam.

To find out more about the 7puzzle company and our wide array of activities, please click on this link. Keep enjoying 7puzzleblog.com by scrolling down below . . .

Paul Godding MSc PGCE

This is our 1,000th, and final, number puzzle at 7puzzleblog.com for a while. Keep watching, as next month will see more number puzzles appearing in a different format. In the meantime, use your arithmetical skills in my popular MAKE number puzzle challenge.

Insert + – x or ÷ when you see ? so the result is exactly 1,000 when working one step at a time from Left to Right (and no brackets allowed):

To celebrate our 999th number puzzle at 7puzzleblog.com, here’s one of our regular challenges, a COUNTDOWN-style question, similar to the numerical teasers seen on the Channel 4 show in the UK:

Using the six numbers 2 3 4 9 9 50 once each, and with + – x ÷ available, can you arrive at today’s target number of 999? Remember, ALL six numbers must be used in your calculation.

Let us know if you’ve made 999.

Here’s a very popular question from our 7puzzleblog.com collection. Both teachers and children enjoy this, so here’s another challenge where clues are given to help you find a particular number.

Read the following facts to work out who I am today:

• I am a 2-digit number less than 50
• one of my digits is odd, the other is even
• I am not a multiple of 2, 3 or 5
• I am not a prime number

WHO AM I?

Here is something a little different. Follow the NUMBER MAGIC steps carefully until you have a 1-digit answer:

Pick at random a 4-digit number in which each digit is different. Write it down. Then jumble up these digits at random and write down the new number. Find the difference between these two numbers. Add the digits together of this answer which should give you either a 1-digit or 2-digit number (if 2-digit, add these digits together one last time to form a 1-digit number). What is your final 1-digit answer?

Let us know by commenting below. Everyone will get the same answer, whatever 4-digit number you chose at the beginning!

The final ELEVEN PLUS question of this batch, this time involving a time-related calculation which 11 year-olds in the 1940′s & 50′s had to answer without calculators. Can you?

It was estimated that about £125 per second was raised during a TV show charity evening. How much money was raised when the programme was on air from 7pm to 11pm?

Leave your answer by commenting below.

Here’s another ELEVEN PLUS question for you to try involving fractions this time. Can you get this right?

A town contains 30,000 made up of three nationalities – A, B and C – in equal numbers. Each year, nationality A lose 1/10 of their numbers while 10% is added to the numbers of nationality B annually. The numbers of people of nationality C in the town remains unchanged each year. What will be the population of the town after 3 years?

Leave your answer by commenting below.

Can your class of 10 and 11 year-olds answer today’s ELEVEN PLUS ARITHMETIC question?

Simply find the number of days from 23rd November 2013 to 7th January 2014, including both these dates.

Leave your answer by commenting below.

Another ELEVEN PLUS ARITHMETIC question for you to try, just like 11 year-olds had to sit in the 1940′s and 50′s to enter Grammar Schools. Could today’s Y6 cohort answer this?

List the number which is divisible by 3 without any remainder:

214    218    220    224    226    228    230    233

Let us know your answer by commenting below.

Today sees a 3-part number challenge similar to the ELEVEN PLUS questions 11 year-olds in the UK sat as part of the entry procedure for Grammar Schools many years ago!

1. Three times a certain number is 107 more than 343. What is that number?
2. 565 is the correct answer when three numbers are added up; one of them is 89, the other is 286. What is the third number?
3. One number in the line  1  9  16  23  27  31  34  36  doesn’t fit properly. Which is it?   

Leave your answers below or e-mail me at paul@7puzzle.com.