May 2000, All Stages

Problems

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Jumping Cricket

Stage: 1 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

El Crico the cricket has to cross a square patio to get home. He can jump the length of one tile, two tiles and three tiles. Can you find a path that would get El Crico home in three jumps?

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Chocs, Mints, Jellies

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

In a bowl there are 4 Chocolates, 3 Jellies and 5 Mints. Find a way to share the sweets between the three children so they each get the kind they like. Is there more than one way to do it?

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Pasta Timing

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Nina must cook some pasta for 15 minutes but she only has a 7-minute sand-timer and an 11-minute sand-timer. How can she use these timers to measure exactly 15 minutes?

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The Big Cheese

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Investigate the area of 'slices' cut off this cube of cheese. What would happen if you had different-sized block of cheese to start with?

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World of Tan - Sports Car

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this sports car?

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Wonky Watches

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Stuart's watch loses two minutes every hour. Adam's watch gains one minute every hour. Use the information to work out what time (the real time) they arrived at the airport.

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Pizza Cut

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Using only six straight cuts, find a way to make as many pieces of pizza as possible. (The pieces can be different sizes and shapes).

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Differs

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

Choose any 4 whole numbers and take the difference between consecutive numbers, ending with the difference between the first and the last numbers. What happens when you repeat this process over and. . . .

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Mathematical Swimmer

Stage: 3 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

Twice a week I go swimming and swim the same number of lengths of the pool each time. As I swim, I count the lengths I've done so far, and make it into a fraction of the whole number of lengths. . . .

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Ratty

Stage: 3 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

If you know the sizes of the angles marked with coloured dots in this diagram which angles can you find by calculation?

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F'arc'tion

Stage: 3 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

At the corner of the cube circular arcs are drawn and the area enclosed shaded. What fraction of the surface area of the cube is shaded? Try working out the answer without recourse to pencil and. . . .

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Quick Times

Stage: 3 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

32 x 38 = 30 x 40 + 2 x 8; 34 x 36 = 30 x 40 + 4 x 6; 56 x 54 = 50 x 60 + 6 x 4; 73 x 77 = 70 x 80 + 3 x 7 Verify and generalise if possible.

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Fair Shares?

Stage: 4 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

A mother wants to share a sum of money by giving each of her children in turn a lump sum plus a fraction of the remainder. How can she do this in order to share the money out equally?

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LOGO Challenge - Sequences and Pentagrams

Stage: 3, 4 and 5 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

Explore this how this program produces the sequences it does. What are you controlling when you change the values of the variables?

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Bendy Quad

Stage: 4 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

Four rods are hinged at their ends to form a convex quadrilateral. Investigate the different shapes that the quadrilateral can take. Be patient this problem may be slow to load.

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Summats Clear

Stage: 5 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Find the sum, f(n), of the first n terms of the sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3........p, p, p +1, p + 1,..... Prove that f(a + b) - f(a - b) = ab.

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Area I'n It

Stage: 5 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Triangle ABC has altitudes h1, h2 and h3. The radius of the inscribed circle is r, while the radii of the escribed circles are r1, r2 and r3 respectively. Prove: 1/r = 1/h1 + 1/h2 + 1/h3 = 1/r1 +. . . .

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Rain or Shine

Stage: 5 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:2 Challenge Level:2

Predict future weather using the probability that tomorrow is wet given today is wet and the probability that tomorrow is wet given that today is dry.

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