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Resources tagged with Practical Activity similar to Prison Cells:

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Broad Topics > Using, Applying and Reasoning about Mathematics > Practical Activity

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Seven Flipped

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

Investigate the smallest number of moves it takes to turn these mats upside-down if you can only turn exactly three at a time.

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Two by One

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

An activity making various patterns with 2 x 1 rectangular tiles.

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Sticks and Triangles

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

Using different numbers of sticks, how many different triangles are you able to make? Can you make any rules about the numbers of sticks that make the most triangles?

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Two on Five

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

Take 5 cubes of one colour and 2 of another colour. How many different ways can you join them if the 5 must touch the table and the 2 must not touch the table?

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Tri.'s

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

How many triangles can you make on the 3 by 3 pegboard?

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Four Colours

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

Kate has eight multilink cubes. She has two red ones, two yellow, two green and two blue. She wants to fit them together to make a cube so that each colour shows on each face just once.

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Cereal Packets

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

How can you put five cereal packets together to make different shapes if you must put them face-to-face?

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Putting Two and Two Together

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

In how many ways can you fit two of these yellow triangles together? Can you predict the number of ways two blue triangles can be fitted together?

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Three Sets of Cubes, Two Surfaces

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

How many models can you find which obey these rules?

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Cover the Tray

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

These practical challenges are all about making a 'tray' and covering it with paper.

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Map Folding

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

Take a rectangle of paper and fold it in half, and half again, to make four smaller rectangles. How many different ways can you fold it up?

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Egyptian Rope

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

The ancient Egyptians were said to make right-angled triangles using a rope with twelve equal sections divided by knots. What other triangles could you make if you had a rope like this?

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Dice Stairs

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

Can you make dice stairs using the rules stated? How do you know you have all the possible stairs?

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Brush Loads

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

How can you arrange the 5 cubes so that you need the smallest number of Brush Loads of paint to cover them? Try with other numbers of cubes as well.

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Making Cuboids

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

Let's say you can only use two different lengths - 2 units and 4 units. Using just these 2 lengths as the edges how many different cuboids can you make?

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Advent Calendar 2008

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

Our 2008 Advent Calendar has a 'Making Maths' activity for every day in the run-up to Christmas.

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Sort Them Out (2)

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you each work out the number on your card? What do you notice? How could you sort the cards?

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Order the Changes

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you order pictures of the development of a frog from frogspawn and of a bean seed growing into a plant?

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Square Corners

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

What is the greatest number of counters you can place on the grid below without four of them lying at the corners of a square?

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Shaping Up

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

Are all the possible combinations of two shapes included in this set of 27 cards? How do you know?

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Advent Calendar 2006

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

NRICH December 2006 advent calendar - a new tangram for each day in the run-up to Christmas.

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Cutting Corners

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you make the most extraordinary, the most amazing, the most unusual patterns/designs from these triangles which are made in a special way?

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Cuboid-in-a-box

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

What is the smallest cuboid that you can put in this box so that you cannot fit another that's the same into it?

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Little Boxes

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

How many different cuboids can you make when you use four CDs or DVDs? How about using five, then six?

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Escher Tessellations

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

This practical investigation invites you to make tessellating shapes in a similar way to the artist Escher.

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It's a Fence!

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

In this challenge, you will work in a group to investigate circular fences enclosing trees that are planted in square or triangular arrangements.

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Music to My Ears

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you predict when you'll be clapping and when you'll be clicking if you start this rhythm? How about when a friend begins a new rhythm at the same time?

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Two Squared

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

What happens to the area of a square if you double the length of the sides? Try the same thing with rectangles, diamonds and other shapes. How do the four smaller ones fit into the larger one?

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Sports Equipment

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

If these balls are put on a line with each ball touching the one in front and the one behind, which arrangement makes the shortest line of balls?

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Double Your Popcorn, Double Your Pleasure

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

We went to the cinema and decided to buy some bags of popcorn so we asked about the prices. Investigate how much popcorn each bag holds so find out which we might have bought.

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Making Maths: Happy Families

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

Here is a version of the game 'Happy Families' for you to make and play.

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Making Maths: Double-sided Magic Square

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

Make your own double-sided magic square. But can you complete both sides once you've made the pieces?

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Square Tangram

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

This was a problem for our birthday website. Can you use four of these pieces to form a square? How about making a square with all five pieces?

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Polydron

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

This activity investigates how you might make squares and pentominoes from Polydron.

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Making Maths: Birds from an Egg

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you make the birds from the egg tangram?

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Four Layers

Stage: 1 and 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3 Challenge Level:3

Can you create more models that follow these rules?

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Fit These Shapes

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

What is the largest number of circles we can fit into the frame without them overlapping? How do you know? What will happen if you try the other shapes?

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World of Tan 1 - Granma T

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Granma T?

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Triangle Shapes

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

This practical problem challenges you to create shapes and patterns with two different types of triangle. You could even try overlapping them.

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World of Tan 24 - Clocks

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of these clocks?

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It's a Tie

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

Kaia is sure that her father has worn a particular tie twice a week in at least five of the last ten weeks, but her father disagrees. Who do you think is right?

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World of Tan 21 - Almost There Now

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of the lobster, yacht and cyclist?

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World of Tan 22 - an Appealing Stroll

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of the child walking home from school?

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World of Tan 26 - Old Chestnut

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this brazier for roasting chestnuts?

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Making Maths: Stars

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Have a go at drawing these stars which use six points drawn around a circle. Perhaps you can create your own designs?

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World of Tan 29 - the Telephone

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of this telephone?

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World of Tan 28 - Concentrating on Coordinates

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Little Ming playing the board game?

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World of Tan 27 - Sharing

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outline of Little Fung at the table?

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World of Tan 25 - Pentominoes

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

Can you fit the tangram pieces into the outlines of these people?

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Making Maths: Indian Window Screen

Stage: 2 Challenge Level: Challenge Level:1

Can you recreate this Indian screen pattern? Can you make up similar patterns of your own?


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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