This mathematical series of puzzle caches has questions from all levels of school education, from Key Stage 1 (age 5-7) in the first few caches, all the way up to Further Maths A-Level in the last few caches. Everybody should be able to get the solutions to the first few caches, but how far through the series will you be able to get? For a full description of the series, please see the first cache “1+1=1”. If you can’t solve a particular set of questions, try asking somebody of the appropriate age, or your friendly neighbourhood Maths teacher!
Please note that many of the caches are hidden near busy roads, so please take care when finding them, especially if you have children with you. It is worth noting that there is parking possible within a few hundred metres of all caches and a quick look on a satellite view map should show suitable places.
This cache contains questions from Key Stage 3, suitable for ages 11 - 14, school years 7 - 9.
1. In a bag there are red, blue and green counters. If there are 6 red and 6 blue counters and one fifth of the total are green, a= the number of green counters.
2. 2(2b+3)=26. Find b.
3. 1/3 + 8/c = 1. Find c.
4. The number of gorillas in the wild has fallen by 70% in the last 10 years. There are only about 5000 left. About how many gorillas were there 10 years ago? D=the sum of the digits in your answer, after having rounded to the nearest hundred.
5. I am thinking of a number. When I subtract 25 from my number and then square the answer, I get the same result as when I square my number and then subtract 25 from my answer. E=the sum of the digits in my number.
The cache can be found at N50 44.PQR E0 12.STU where P=B+E, Q=C-A, R=C-A-B-E, S=A, T=D-B, U=E+1
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.