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Plants

Three children are going to buy some plants for their birthdays. They will plant them within circular paths. How could they do this?

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Junior Frogs

Have a go at this well-known challenge. Can you swap the frogs and toads in as few slides and jumps as possible?

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More Children and Plants

This challenge extends the Plants investigation so now four or more children are involved.

More Plant Spaces

Stage: 2 and 3 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

Why do this problem?

This activity provides a good extension to the More Children and Plants activity when you have an exceptional pupil who you think could go so much further. It offers opportunities for both graphical and spreadsheet work. As with the more accessible version of this activity it provides an opportunity for pupils to think creatively about those aspects of mathematics in which they may not have had any instruction.  

Possible approach

Introduce the More Children and Plants activity and discuss with the pupil how this could be extended using this challenge. 

Key questions

What ways are you finding for drawing the appropriate diagrams?
Tell me about the areas you have obtained.
What have you set up on your spreadsheet/table?  


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.