World of Tan 28 - Concentrating on Coordinates

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2
Children you might like to:
  • Explore the Internet and find out which mathematician 'invented' the idea of coordinates.
Parents you might like to:
  • Try playing the games of Coordinate Cunning in Play Games
  • Discuss strategies to help you win.
  • Talk about what you remember doing with 'Coordinate plane' when last in school.
  • Help find out about the mathematician who is reputed to have 'invented' the Cartesian (hint) plane.
Teachers you might like to:
  • Organise a knockout competition around the game of Coordinate Cunning in Play Games with children at each stage having to win the best of three games until the final. Then they can play the best of five games!
  • Explain the terms plain and plane and go on to show how the coordinate plane can be used to show multiplication facts (y = 2x, y = 3x etc..)
  • Introduce children to coordinates in space (x,y,z).

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.