Wild Maths

Wild maths is mathematics without bounds. Here, you are free to roam and develop as a mathematician. We invite you to embark on a mathematical adventure!

Mathematics is a creative subject. It involves spotting patterns, making connections, finding new ways of looking at things and using what you already know in new contexts. Creative mathematicians play around with examples, draw pictures, have the courage to experiment and ask good questions.

We provide games, investigations, stories and spaces to explore, where we know there are discoveries to be made. Some have starting points, some a big question and others offer you a free space to investigate. Have a go at anything that catches your eye. You can find the full collection of activities, and explore challenges and investigations that are linked by some shared mathematical areas, by clicking on the 'Pathways' link in the top menu.

We'd love you to share your ideas and discoveries. You can share ideas via the comments at the bottom of each resource, or email us by clicking on the 'Share your discoveries' link at the bottom of each page.

Happy exploring!


Spirals, Spirals

 

These are two kinds of spirals I made using squared paper.

The first uses the little squares to make the spiral.

The second uses the sides of the little squares to build the spiral.

 
alternate

 

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Differences

Choose any three whole numbers, find the differences between them all, and find the product of the differences.

For example, if your three whole numbers are $7$, $4$ and $12$, the differences are:

$12 - 7 = 5$
$12 - 4 = 8$
$7 - 4 = 3$

The product of the differences is $3\times 5\times 8 = 120$

Try a few examples.

What do you notice?
Can you explain what you've noticed?

 

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L-triominoes


A triomino is a shape made from three squares. Here is an L-triomino:

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Jackson Cube

Keen to make a Jackson cube? 

Here you can find pictures of the model itself and the module which is used to make it, along with videos of how to make the module and how to put them together to create the Jackson cube. 

Have a go!

The model:

jacksoncube.jpg  

 

A module:

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Pentomino Puzzles

Start by looking at Make your own pentominoes, or print out a set to cut out.

Here are some different shapes you can make with a set of pentominoes:

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Meet a Mathematician - Fibonacci

While exploring the questions about climbing stairs you might have come across the sequence of numbers

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ....

It's defined by the fact that each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers (apart from 1 and 2, which start the sequence off).

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