Squigits

Each of the digits in the number ninety four is a square number. Let's call all numbers like that squigits!

1. Can you find a squigit which is divisible by 7 and larger than 50?

2. Which two squigits have a difference of 100?

3. Find a squigit whose square root is also a squigit.

4. Find a squigit that's also a prime number.

5. How many years last
century were squigits?

A Mathematics Lesson Starter Of The Day


Topics: Starter | Number

  • S.Singh, Maltby Comprehensive, Rotherham
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  • Surely 0 is a square number so your answer for the years should also include 1900, 1901, 1904, 1909, 1910, 1940, 1990 making 16 in total.
  • Steve Eastop, Margate, Kent.
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  • Although you can not form a square in reality from 0 items, (or a square of 0 by 0 items) nor can you form one from negative integers neither. For example, you can not draw a picture of a square containing say -9 points by -9 points (columns x widths). It is accepted, however, in Number Theory that the product of any two negative quantities always result in a POSITIVE AMOUNT! Therefore, one can 'square' a negative quantity (that doesn't exist in reality into a positive result that does)!
    The first respondent was correct in that 0 SHOULD be included within the results/ solutions to these questions! The reason being that a SQUARE NUMBER is defined as: "A number that is the square of an integer: 1, 4, 9, 16, etc." Furthermore, an INTEGER is defined as: "The positive and negative whole numbers: 0, + or - 1, + or - 2, + or- 3,...." Hence 0 IS an integer and thus it CAN be squared as in the context of first definition of a square number given!
    These defintions occur in the The Penguin book entitled: 'THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF MATHEMATICS' by John Daintith & R.D. Nelson! (Pages 175 and 306 respectively).

    [Transum: Thanks for all of your comments. The answers below have now been altered to include zero as a square number.]
  • Year 5, Primet Primary School
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  • The children at Primet Primary school would like to know if 0 is a square number. We have been having discussions and they believe if you have nought and multiply it by nought then you cannot make a square.
    The children really enjoyed this challenge and found many different answers for each problem.
    Thanks.

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Laptops In Lessons

Teacher, do your students have access to computers such as tablets, iPads or Laptops?  This page was really designed for projection on a whiteboard but if you really want the students to have access to it here is a concise URL for a version of this page without the comments:

Transum.org/go/?Start=June29

However it would be better to assign one of the student interactive activities below.

Laptops In Lessons

Here is the URL which will take them to a student activity about square numbers.

Transum.org/go/?to=Squareshoot

Student Activity


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