Building With Cubes
Try to picture these buildings of cubes in your head. Can you make them to check whether you had imagined them correctly?
Problem
A. Imagine you have five cubes. They are blue, red, yellow, black and orange:
Now imagine making this building.
Start with the yellow cube.
Put the black cube just behind it.
Put the orange cube on top of the black cube.
Put the red cube on the left of the yellow cube.
Put the blue cube on the right of the black cube.
What does your building look like?
Try using cubes to check whether you had pictured it correctly.
Please draw or photograph your building and send it in to us.
B. Now imagine you have six cubes. They are orange, yellow, black, brown, pink and red:
In your head, start with the red and the black cubes. Put the black cube underneath the red cube.
Put the orange cube on the right hand side of the black cube.
Put the yellow cube just in front of the orange cube.
Put the pink cube on the right of the yellow cube.
Put the brown cube on top of the pink cube.
What does your building look like?
Try using cubes to check whether you had pictured it correctly.
Once again, please draw or photograph your building and send it in to us.
If you've enjoyed this problem, you might like to have a go at More Buiding with Cubes.
Getting Started
As you picture each stage in your head, you might like to draw it so that you can keep track of where the cubes are.
You could try to describe the building to someone else after each stage to see whether you can still imagine it.
Student Solutions
Alice from the Royal School did a sketch of the images she'd pictured in her head. Here are the two she sent us:
Well done, Alice. I wonder if you can say which colour cube is hidden in each case?
A group of pupils from Lillington Primary School also sent us images of what they imagined the first building to look like:
This is from Abbie:
This is from Chelsea:
Here is Kyle's picture:
And finally, from someone else, who's name I couldn't make out, unfortunately:
Teachers' Resources
Building with Cubes
A. Imagine you have five cubes. They are blue, red, yellow, black and orange:
Now imagine making this building.
Start with the yellow cube.
Put the black cube just behind it.
Put the orange cube on top of the black cube.
Put the red cube on the left of the yellow cube.
Put the blue cube on the right of the black cube.
What does your building look like?
Try using cubes to check whether you had pictured it correctly.
Please draw or photograph your building and send it in to us.
B. Now imagine you have six cubes. They are orange, yellow, black, brown, pink and red:
In your head, start with the red and the black cubes. Put the black cube underneath the red cube.
Put the orange cube on the right hand side of the black cube.
Put the yellow cube just in front of the orange cube.
Put the pink cube on the right of the yellow cube.
Put the brown cube on top of the pink cube.
What does your building look like?
Try using cubes to check whether you had pictured it correctly.
Once again, please draw or photograph your building and send it in to us.
If you've enjoyed this problem, you might like to have a go at More Buiding with Cubes.
Why do this problem?
Possible approach
Key questions
Possible extension
Learners could go on to More Building with Cubes.
Possible support
If children are completely lost suggest using the cubes to do this activity, Chairs and Tables.