Analysing Alternative Approaches - November 2011, Stage 3&4

This month, we invite you to consider a variety of ways of approaching the tasks, and encourage you to reflect on the merits of different routes to solutions.

Problems

Going Round in Circles

Stage: 3 Challenge Level:

Mathematicians are always looking for efficient methods for solving problems. How efficient can you be?

Odds, Evens and More Evens

Stage: 3 Challenge Level:

Alison, Bernard and Charlie have been exploring sequences of odd and even numbers, which raise some intriguing questions...

Method in Multiplying Madness?

Stage: 3 Challenge Level:

Watch our videos of multiplication methods that you may not have met before. Can you make sense of them?

What's it Worth?

Stage: 3 and 4 Challenge Level:

There are lots of different methods to find out what the shapes are worth - how many can you find?

Steel Cables

Stage: 4 Challenge Level:

Some students have been working out the number of strands needed for different sizes of cable. Can you make sense of their solutions?

LCM Sudoku

Stage: 4 Challenge Level:

Here is a Sudoku with a difference! Use information about lowest common multiples to help you solve it.

A Long Time at the Till

Stage: 4 and 5 Challenge Level:

Try to solve this very difficult problem and then study our two suggested solutions. How would you use your knowledge to try to solve variants on the original problem?

A Rational Search

Stage: 4 and 5 Challenge Level:

Investigate constructible images which contain rational areas.

Featured Solution

Which Spinners?

We had some clear explanations about the different shapes of distribution that can be made with two spinners.

Go to last month's problems to see more solutions.

Articles & Games

Improving Reasoning: Analysing Alternative Approaches

In this article, Malcolm Swan describes a teaching approach designed to improve the quality of students' reasoning.

GOT IT

A game for two people, or play online. Given a target number, say 23, and a range of numbers to choose from, say 1-4, players take it in turns to add to the running total to hit their target.