Communicating and Reflecting - February 2009, Stage 3&4

We are used to sharing findings and reflecting on what we've done when we arrive at the solution to a problem, but there is great value in doing this whilst working on problems. Good problem solvers reflect on their progress while they work, asking themselves "Is there a better way to proceed?". When recording their work they communicate their ideas (initially for themselves and then possibly for others); good ideas can come from sharing thoughts and reviewing progress.

Problems

Can They Be Equal?

Stage: 3 Challenge Level:

Can you find rectangles where the value of the area is the same as the value of the perimeter?

Power Mad!

Stage: 3 Challenge Level:

Powers of numbers behave in surprising ways. Take a look at some of these and try to explain why they are true.

For Richer for Poorer

Stage: 3 Challenge Level:

Charlie has moved between countries and the average income of both has increased. How can this be so?

Iffy Logic

Stage: 4 Short Challenge Level:

Can you rearrange the cards to make a series of correct mathematical statements?

Russian Cubes

Stage: 4 Challenge Level:

How many different cubes can be painted with three blue faces and three red faces? A boy (using blue) and a girl (using red) paint the faces of a cube in turn so that the six faces are painted. . . .

Days and Dates

Stage: 4 Challenge Level:

Investigate how you can work out what day of the week your birthday will be on next year, and the year after...

Walkabout

Stage: 4 Challenge Level:

A walk is made up of diagonal steps from left to right, starting at the origin and ending on the x-axis. How many paths are there for 4 steps, for 6 steps, for 8 steps?