Smallest number 3 Solution

The Ministry is migrating nzmaths content to Tāhurangi.           
Relevant and up-to-date teaching resources are being moved to Tāhūrangi (tahurangi.education.govt.nz). 
When all identified resources have been successfully moved, this website will close. We expect this to be in June 2024. 
e-ako maths, e-ako Pāngarau, and e-ako PLD 360 will continue to be available. 

For more information visit https://tahurangi.education.govt.nz/updates-to-nzmaths

What is the smallest number which is both a cube and a square?

Solution:

Both 0 and 1 are technically both cubes and squares. They are known as self cubes and self squares, meaning that they are themselves squared and themselves cubed 02 = 0, 03 = 0, 12 = 1, 1= 1.

The next smallest number which is both a square and a cube is 64 (43 and 82).

The easiest way to solve this problem is to make a list of cubes and check each to see whether it is also a square. Because the solution is the third whole number greater than 1 it does not take a long time.