Mathematical striptease

Why is a ring-doughnut the same as a cup of coffee but different to a slice of toast? Discover the discipline of topology.

How did we do that?

It seems as though your mind had been read – but how is that possible? Discover the magic of maths.

A hand with sums

Your ability with calculations could be down to your fingertips: how do humans set about learning about numbers?

Clocking

Dick Stephen talks about his history of making things and his love of horology.

Plain sailing?

A hill to climb

You're on your way for a cold beer when your ambulance gets stuck in a gully - can you escape like they did in Ice Cold In Alex?

Keanu can-do?

If you needed to get a large bus across a larger gap, could you apply the lessons from Speed?

Figures at work

They do more than sum up the profit and loss - discover the wide role played by numbers in business.

Does it all add up?

Are the rules of maths part of the natural order, or are they a construction? Consider the philosophy of maths.

Multiplication

Millions head out on each journey, but the odds are against them. Find out why just one sperm counts.

Mathemagical

It can make Brad Pitt's buttocks wiggle and explain the death of fish. Meet mathematics, queen of the sciences.

Uneasy Relations

A simple introduction to the theory of relativity between time and space.

On target?

What  do league tables really tell us? Discover how to make sense of the confusing claims of  performance indicators.

The art of numbers

Can artists help mathematicians avoid getting too spaced out?

Maths for the masses

Groups of people don't, as assumed, behave like fluids. Keith Still went working the crowd.

The universe's PIN code

To Professor Sir Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, the essential nature of the cosmos and the evolution of the entire world have been determined by just 6 numbers.

Where do you stand?

If you were marooned on a desert island, how would you go about measuring latitude and longitude?

Additional support

Problems with adding up needn't stop you studying science - grab a calculator and get some help with maths.

Route masters?

Our scientists put trigonometry to the test in order to make a scale map of the island.

Ticking over

The Rough Science team use the sun and some sticks making clocks.

The middle

Whether you stand or fall owes a lot to your centre of gravity.

Start from the finish

The final resting position of an object is the first clue to calculating its trajectory.

Have a try yourself

If, like the Rough Science team, you were stranded in a mystery location and asked 'where are you', how would you do?

Sample example

Does hanging around snooker halls make you a better player? And what does this tell us about medical studies and epidemiology?