Homes

There are to be 6 homes built on a new development site. They could be semi-detached, detached or terraced houses. How many different combinations of these can you find?

Stairs

This challenge is to design different step arrangements, which must go along a distance of 6 on the steps and must end up at 6 high.

Let's Investigate Triangles

Vincent and Tara are making triangles with the class construction set. They have a pile of strips of different lengths. How many different triangles can they make?

Name the Children

Stage: 1 Challenge Level:

Why do this problem?

The idea of this problem is for children to adopt a systematic approach to the order in which they can use the information. They will need to prioritise the clues which immediately help them to name a child and then move on to the clues which are perhaps more ambiguous, gradually narrowing down the options.

As the hints suggest, having a way to record their thinking will be vital. This photocopiable sheet might be useful.

Key questions

How are you going to record what you have done?

Why don't you could call the children by the first letter of their names - A, B, C etc?

What about sketching out the line of children?

Why don't you write all the possible letters by each child until you have found out exactly who each one is?

Possible extension

Learners who found this easy could try Rabbits in the Pen.

Possible support

Suggest using this sheet to jot down possibilities or start with this similar, but easier problem, Whose Face?

Working systematically. Investigations. Practical Activity. Combinations. Visualising. Multiplication & division. Factors and multiples. Addition & subtraction. Interactivities.

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