World of Tan 26 - Old Chestnut

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2
Children you might like to:
  • Find all the references to time within the story and list others that could have been used.
  • Consider the phrase "that's cool". Discuss what it means and give examples of when you might use such a term.
  • Talk about the different ways in which you work while at school.
Parents you might like to:
  • Explain the terms 'old chestnut' and 'that's cool'
  • Help try to solve the problem in the activity, and show what this problem has to do with the mathematician called Euler.
  • Look up and discuss the words unicursal and transversable.
  • Pursue similar problems - remember trying to join up 5 dots when you were young?
Teachers you might like to:
  • Explore other words/ phrases that are similar to 'old chestnut'
  • Show why the problem Little Ming and Little Fung were arguing aboutcan or cannot be done
  • investigate at greater length the mathematician Euler and what he is famous for
  • Use the Internet to find similar problems. Hint: research Hamiltonian journeys/ salesmen journeys find appropriate mathematical 'old chestnuts' for the children to solve.

The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice. More information on many of our other activities can be found here.
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NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.