Test your puzzle-solving ability with incredibly immersive and interactive puzzles from The Open University and UKMT

This free course looks at Babylonian mathematics. You will learn how a series of discoveries has enabled historians to decipher stone tablets and study the various techniques the Babylonians used for problem-solving and teaching. The Babylonian problem-solving skills have been described as remarkable and scribes of the time received a training ...

From politics to cookery, ratios, proportions and percentages are part of everyday life. This free course is designed to help you become more familiar with how figures can be manipulated, then you can check whether that discount really is as big as they claim!

From paving your patio to measuring the ingredients for your latest recipe, squares, roots and powers really are part of everyday life. This free course reviews the basics of all three and also describes scientific notation, which is a convenient way of writing or displaying large numbers.

Test your problem-solving skills and try to crack our secret messages using clues.

Geometry is concerned with the various aspects of size, shape and space. In this free course you will explore the concepts of angles, shapes, symmetry, area and volume through interactive activities.

This free course, Basic science: understanding numbers, explains how you can use numbers to describe the natural world and make sense of everything from atoms to oceans.

This free course is an introduction to Bayesian statistics. Section 1 discusses several ways of estimating probabilities. Section 2 reviews ideas of conditional probabilities and introduces Bayes’ theorem and its use in updating beliefs about a proposition, when data are observed, or information becomes available. Section 3 introduces the main ...

Voters, voters, in the poll, which is the fairest system of all?

If you feel that maths is a mystery that you want to unravel then this free course is for you. It will guide you through how numbers are put together, give you confidence with using percentages, fractions and negative numbers and provide you with problem solving skills for your everyday life and the wider world.

This free course, Succeed with maths: part 2, is a sequel to Part 1, in which you will continue to develop your mathematical knowledge and skills using everyday examples. The course takes a look at measurement of length, mass and volume, negative numbers and how to use these, scientific notation (based upon powers of 10), shapes and how to ...

The Egyptians are known for being ahead of their time in comparison to some civilisations that came after them. This free course, Egyptian mathematics, looks at how the Egyptians solved mathematical problems in everyday life and the technology they used. An understanding of this area has only been possible following the translation of the ...

This free course, Everyday maths 1, is designed to bring your learning to life, inspiring you to improve your current maths skills or helping you to remember any areas that you may have forgotten. Working through the examples and interactive activities in this course will help you to, among other things, run a household or make progress in your ...

This free course, Everyday maths 2, will build on your existing maths skills and help you to feel more confident tackling the maths you come across in everyday situations.

Differential equations are any equations that include derivatives and arise in many situations. This free course, Introduction to differential equations, considers three types of first-order differential equations. Section 1 introduces equations that can be solved by direct integration and section 2 the method of separation of variables. Section...

This free course, Exploring data: graphs and numerical summaries, will introduce you to a number of ways of representing data graphically and of summarising data numerically. You will learn the uses for pie charts, bar charts, histograms and scatterplots. You will also be introduced to various ways of summarising data and methods for assessing ...

Maths is intimately entwined with science and technology, whether it is used to analyse data collected on plants in the Amazon rainforest, to calculate the trajectory of a comet or design a bridge to connect two countries. This means that science and technology go hand-in-hand with maths, and that a firm grasp of maths is crucial for studying ...

This free course, Introduction to number theory, is a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of integers. Section 1 introduces Euclid’s algorithm, which is used to find the HCF of two integers, and the idea of congruences, mathematical statements used to compare remainders when two integers are each divided by another integer. ...

Mathematics isn't solely the pursuit of men. We should celebrate great thinkers like Emmy Noether and the superb work of women in mathematics today

This free course, Teaching mathematics, has been designed for non-specialist mathematics teachers of 8 to 14 year olds, teaching assistants, home schoolers and parents and draws on the established provision of mathematics education at the Open University. It can also be used as Continuing Professional Development by individuals or groups ...

Patterns occur everywhere in art, nature, science and especially mathematics. Being able to recognise, describe and use these patterns is an important skill that helps you to tackle a wide variety of different problems. This free course, Starting with maths: Patterns and formulas, explores some of these patterns, from ancient number patterns ...

Are you considering doing a science qualification but wondering if you have adequate maths skills? Test yourself in our interactive.