Polydron

This activity investigates how you might make squares and pentominoes from Polydron.

Construct-o-straws

Make a cube out of straws and have a go at this practical challenge.

Cereal Packets

How can you put five cereal packets together to make different shapes if you must put them face-to-face?

Reef and Granny

Stage: 2 Challenge Level:

Why do this problem?

Knots are a fascinating subject and this problem is a good way to begin exploring them. It would be well worth watching the video What's a Knot? with your class in addition to having a go at this problem.

This problem is probably best approached in a very practical way with children - giving them some string to tie the knots for themselves. However, before this, encourage your pupils to predict which knot will be best and why. If they take time to hypothesise they will get a lot more out of the practical task.

Following on from this activity, you might like to look at Turning Granny which invites learners to look at using symmetry to distinguish between knots.

Key questions

How do you think you can tie that knot?

If you want to make things secure with a knot, what do you think is important?

Why don't you try tying two things together using each knot to test which knot stays in the same shape?

Do you think that this will make it less likely to slip?

Possible extension

Learners could have a go at this problem

Possible support

Suggest using this information with real string:

To tie a reef knot you take an end of the string in each hand and do 'right over left, left over right'. A granny knot is 'right over left, right over left again'.

Generalising. Games. Cubes. Investigations. Compound transformations. Tangram. Interactivities. Working systematically. Visualising. Practical Activity.

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