Problems solving - Maths Week Scotland challenges
Maths Week Scotland 2026 index
Try out all the daily maths challenges from Maths Week Scotland 2026. A new problem will be published each day, beginning on Monday 21st September.
Broken squares problem
Can you work out how many squares there are in a diagram, and how many sides need to be removed to break them all?
Cabin bags problem
Can you work out the maximum size of bag allowed on a series of flights?
Desert island problem
Can you work out how many coconuts a group of reality show contestants have to survive on?
Racing swifts problem
Can you work out when twin sisters started their training run?
Mystery angle problem
Can you work out the unknown angle in a quadrilateral?
Television deal problem
Can you use prices and percentages to find the original price of a TV?
Nuts problem
Can you sort out the correct mix of differently priced nuts?
Dominoes problem
Can you work out the dimensions of a domino within a larger rectangle?
Tortoise and hare problem
Can you work out where on a race track one runner will catch the other?
Wall problem
Can you work out the missing value from a wall of decimals and fractions?
Test scores problem
Can you use averages to work out a pupil's test scores?
Sculpture problem
Can you work out how much paint is needed to cover a sculpture?
Deli(cious) sandwiches problem
Can you work out all the different combinations of sandwich fillings?
All the ones problem
Can you work out how many times the number one features in a group of numbers?
Books and magazines problem
Can you work out how many books there are in different boxes?
The farmer's weight problem
Can you work out how much the farmer weighs?
Dice problem
Can you figure out which nets can fold into cubes or dice?
Problem 4 - Shopping spree
Can you work out how much money Tam McTavish spent on a family shopping trip?
Triangle problem
Can you figure out how many triangles in this diagram?
Sequences problem
Can you solve this problem about sequences and finding missing information?
Traffic calming problem
Can you calculate the average speed of a journey?
Counting cubes problem
Can you solve this problem about visualising 3-D shapes and counting cubes?
Fruit cocktail problem
Can you find out the missing prices to solve this problem?
Edging the path
Can you figure out measurements and calculate costs to solve this gardening problem?
Ways and means problem
Can you use different types of mathematical averages to find some mystery numbers?
Dominoes problem
Can you find all the possibilities for fitting dominoes in a box with this problem about space and volume?
Teachers’ meeting problem
Can you work out how many teachers are taking part in a meeting?
Missing lines problem
Can you work out where the missing lines in a diagram should go in this problem about mathematical relationships?
Palindromic sales problem
Can you solve this problem about numbers that read the same forwards and backwards?
A very long walk problem
Can you solve this problem about comparing different units of length and distances?
Triangle areas problem
Can you work out the areas of different parts of triangles?
Rods problem
Can you solve this problem about using different lengths of rod to work out all sorts of measurements?
Powerful pyramid problem
Can you solve this problem about powers and incides?
Filling the tank problem
Can you solve this problem about using different taps to fill a water tank?
Number puzzle problem
Can you solve this problem about equations with missing numbers?
