Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Dave Gale
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction
Page 1
Page 2
The Problems
Sweets in a Box
Painting Between the Lines
Four Card Fun
Caterpillars
Probability Game
Hints, Guidance and Links
Links to Schemes of Work
Inspiration and Discussion
Points
Links/References
Page 4
..
Page 5
..
Page 8
..
Page 9
..
Page 10
..
Page 11
Page 22
Page 25
Page 26
Introduction
This booklet
Offers some ideas for allowing students to be creative within the
maths classroom but specifically within the maths they try. It is not
my intention to have your students making endless pretty display
material (although there is always some scope for that), rather that
your students should have a chance to explore mathematical ideas
and create new problems for themselves.
Further, as we all know, any material provided to teachers need to
be
easily accessible,
user friendly,
tried and tested,
helpfully guided.
An important message
I hope its self-explanatory:
Sweets in a Box
A sweet manufacturer has decided to design some gift boxes for a new kind of
sweet.
Each box is to contain 36 sweets placed in lines in a single layer in a
geometric shape without gaps or fillers.
How many different shaped boxes can you design?
Possible extensions:
Now try making boxes of 36 sweets in 2, 3 or 4 layers.
Can you arrange the sweets, 9 each of 4 colours, so that none of the same
colour are on top of each other as well as not adjacent to each other in any
direction?
See if you can invent a good way of showing your arrangement.
Try different numbers of sweets such as 24 or 60 in each box.
If you wanted to describe mathematically the line segments used to draw this
picture, all you would need to do is decide where to put the axes and then
work out the equations of all the straight lines.
Here is a set of instructions to create an abstract representation of another
well known landmark (download as a Word or PDF file).
A Straight-Line Landmark
7
a) y = 2x 2 between x = 1 and x = 5
b) y = 4x 12 between x = 5 and x = 6
c) y = 11x 54 between x = 6 and x = 7
d) y = 2x + 9 between x = 7 and x = 8
e) y = 2x + 41 between x = 8 and x = 9
f) y = 11x + 122 between x = 9 and x = 10
g) y = 4x + 52 between x = 10 and x = 11
h) y = 2x + 30 between x = 11 and x = 15
i) y = 23 between x = 7 and x = 9
j) y = 12 between x = 6 and x = 10
k) y = 10 between x = 7.5 and x = 8.5
l) y = 8 between x = 5 and x = 11
m) y = 4x 20 between x = 7 and x = 7.5
n) y = 4x + 44 between x = 8.5 and x = 9
o) y = 4 between x = 6 and x = 10
p) y = 2x 8 between x = 4 and x = 6
q) y = 2x + 24 between x = 10 and x = 12
What have you got?
Possible extension:
Can you devise a way to describe mathematically each region so that you can
give instructions for colouring your image?
Please send us any of your creations (together with your instructions).
Now change the puzzle in some way. Based on what youve found out as
you investigated the first puzzle, ask yourself What if I try ?
Investigate your new puzzle and make notes on what youve found.
Comparing to the first set of questions above, what is different now and
what is the same?
10
Caterpillars
Halve it
Add one
Stop
What is the
shortest
caterpillar
possible?
11
Probability Game
12
Sweets in a Box
Original Problem
Go to www.nrich.maths.org/84
Or just search for Sweets in a Box at www.nrich.maths.org
Are there any simplifying assumptions necessary (size/uniformity of
sweet)?
Counters could be provided for lower ability (kinaesthetic).
Have you got all the possible rectangular designs?
Encourage non-rectangular shapes. Put different sorts of paper out to
use: Isometric, Square dotty, blank.
How could the puzzle be changed? What if
How many ways can it be coloured? Will you method work for other
layouts?
Are there any amounts of colours that make the task impossible? (ie can
it be done with 3 colours, 5 colours?)
Possible link to the four colour theorem.
What if the sweets are triangular?
Different tray sizes: Link to Least Common Multiple and Prime Factor
Decomposition.
Could they make the tray? (Nets, Max Box problem.)
13
14
Big Ben
Empire State
15
16
Arc de Triomphe
Statue of Liberty
17
y= 32 -2x
between
y=8
between
x = 7.5
between
y = 2x - 15
between
y=7
between
y = 2x
between
y=5
between
y = 15 - 2x
between
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
and
and
7
1
0
and
and
and
and
and
and
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
12
12
8
11
11
8
10
5
x = 10
between
y= 0
y=x+2
between
x= 1
y = 18 - x
between
x= 11
x=6
between
y= 0
y = 24 - x
between
x= 8
y = 11
between
x= 11
y = 2x + 1
between
x= 3
y=7
between
x= 11
9
1
0
1
1
1
y = 11
between
x= 3
y=3
between
x= 1
y=x+8
y=7
between
between
x= 3
x= 3
18
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
d
an
y= 3
x= 5
x= 15
y= 3
x= 13
x= 13
x= 5
x= 13
x= 5
x= 6
x= 8
x= 5
2
1
3
1
4
y = 33 - 2x
between
x= 11
y=3
between
x= 10
d
an
d
an
d
x= 13
x= 15
19
y = 12
between
x = 18
between
y=3
between
y=3
between
y=4
between
y=7
between
x = 22
between
y = 31 - x
between
x = 26
between
10
x=8
between
11
y = 5x - 3
between
12
y=2
between
13
x=4
between
14
x=7
between
15
y = 28 - x
between
16
y=2
between
17
y=2
between
18
x = 19
between
19
y=4
between
20
x=4
between
21
y=1
between
22
x = 21
between
23
y=1
between
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
20
and
x= 16
and
y= 4
and
x= 7
19
and
x= 21
and
x= 8
21
and
x= 24
and
y= 4
24
and
x= 26
and
y= 5
and
y= 4
and
x= 3
and
x= 18
and
y= 4
and
y= 3
16
and
x= 21
and
x= 4
22
and
x= 26
and
y= 3
18
and
x= 22
and
y= 3
and
x= 7
and
y= 3
19
and
x= 21
21
y=6
between
y=3
between
x = 13
between
y=3
between
x=2
between
y=x-8
between
y=x+6
between
y=x-1
between
9
1
0
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
1
8
1
9
2
0
2
1
2
2
2
3
2
4
x=7
between
y=6
between
y=1
between
x=3
between
x = 10
between
y=3
between
x=9
between
x = 14
between
y=5
between
x=6
between
y=6
between
y=9
between
x = 10
between
x = 14
between
x = 13
between
x=9
between
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
y
=
y
=
y
=
22
and
and
and
and
5
1
5
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
1
1
3
and
and
5
1
3
and
5
1
3
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
y
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
y
=
y
=
y
=
10
10
3
7
6
17
3
10
6
3
15
6
3
14
6
6
14
6
14
17
6
3
6
3
2
5
2
6
2
7
2
8
2
9
3
0
3
1
3
2
3
3
3
4
3
5
3
6
3
7
y=5
between
x=6
between
y=2
between
y=3
between
y=7
between
y=2
between
x=2
between
y=6
between
y = x - 14
between
x=3
between
y=5
between
y=5
between
x=7
between
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
and
and
and
and
1
1
3
and
and
6
1
5
and
and
and
and
and
and
and
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
x
=
x
=
y
=
7
3
7
3
15
14
3
7
17
3
3
10
3
23
24
Caterpillars
Original Problem
I believe I collected this from my course tutor Dave Miller during my PGCE
at Keele.
Encourage competition. Ive seen an 8 long caterpillar here. Anyone
beaten that?
Between the class, have they tried them all?
Are there good/poor starting numbers?
If youve tried 97, what other numbers have you effectively tested?
Do they really all end in 4, 2, 1?
What if you work in reverse? Start at the tail.
Student: Can I start with 100?
Teacher: You tell me.
What if you start with 3.5?
What if you start with minus 4?
Is zero odd, even, both or neither?
What is an even number?
25
26
Cater
pillar
Exam
ples
27
Probability Game
Original Problem
To the best of my knowledge, I came up with this idea independently but
Im sure there are other versions.
Relate to fun fair games. They are often rigged so that the person running
the stall has much more of a chance of winning than may at first be
thought.
Depending on the year group, make use of tree diagrams or just
experimental outcomes.
For experimental games, use multilink cubes.
Try going back to the original game and state the same rules/win
condition but cover up the beads in the box. Are people happy to play or
do they want to know whats in the box first?
The game needs to be appealing to punters.
If linking to tree diagrams, encourage them to think how their game
choices will affect their diagram and its complexity.
May have to boycott some ideas. For example, 100 red, 100 green, 100
yellow, 1 black. Pick out two, if they match you win. Beads are kept out
for the subsequent games (without replacement) for the remainder of the
day. If you pick the Black bead, then you win some big prize. Lovely idea
but too complex!
Here are some games/ideas my students came up with:
10 red, 10
purple, 10
yellow, 10 black.
Pick 3.
50 yellow, 20
blue, 10 purple.
Pick 2.
Matching wins
an amount
determined by
the colour.
Include a rainbow
ball. Picking this
28
means you double
your win.
Key Stage 3
Proble
m
Sweets
in a Box
Painting
Between
the Lines
SMTP
ref
Y7.
SSM1
Y7. Alg3
Y8.
SSM1
Y9.
SSM1
Y9. Alg4
Y7. Alg3
Y7. Alg3
Y8. Alg3
Y9. Alg4
Four
Card Fun
Caterpill
ars
Probabili
ty Game
Y7.
Num1
Y8.
N/A1
Y7.
Num1
Y7. HD1
Y7. HD3
Y8. HD1
Y8. HD1
Y8. HD1
KS3 link
Use 2D representations to visualise 3D
shapes.
Recognise and use factors.
Investigate in a range of contexts: shape
and space.
Explore connections in mathematics across a
range of contexts: shape and space.
Use the prime factor decomposition of a
number.
Generate coordinate pairs that satisfy a
simple linear rule; plot the graphs of simple
linear functions where y is given in terms of
x.
Recognise straight line graphs parallel to the
x or y axis.
Recognise that equations of the form
y=mx+c correspond to straight-line graphs.
Given values for m and c, find the gradient
of lines given by equations of the form
y=mx+c
Use standard column procedure to add and
subtract whole numbers.
Add, subtract integers
29
Leve
l
6
4
4
6
6
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
5
5
Y9. HD2
KS3 cont
All
Y7
Y8
Y9
Notes:
SMTP = Sample Medium Term
Plan
HD = Handling data
Alg = algebra
Num = Number
N/ A = Number/algebra
Where a phrase is repeated in a later part of the same year groups plan,
Ive only included the first instance. Eg, if something is listed in Alg1 and
Alg3, Ive just listed Alg1.
30
KS4 links
Painting
Between
the Lines
Four
Card Fun
G
upwar
ds
Caterpill
ars
Probabili
ty Game
24
Grade
s
C
E to C
E/D
C/B
F/G
E
C
A*
independent
S5.7 Compare experimental and theoretical
probabilities
All
Functional elements:
Representing
Analysing
Interpreting
These problems would be considered AO3 (or
above!)
Quality of Written Communication (QWC)
Clearly there is significant need for QWC within
these problems.
25
What is creativity?
Teacher A:
Teacher B:
maths.
Teacher A:
Could my students
use the word
conjecture more
often?
What would a
mathematical cartoon
look like?
Do my students ever
see me
struggling/persevering
with maths?
Am I allowing my students an
opportunity to try their own ways of
solving problems or do I always steer
them down my preferred methods?
26
Links/references
Books
Further Mathematical Diversions,
Martin Gardiner
Rob Eastaway
Ian Stewart
Ian
Websites
www.nrich.maths.org
www.rsscse.co.uk
27