Rotations

  • Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
    problem

    Rollin' rollin' rollin'

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    filled star filled star filled star
    Two circles of equal radius touch at P. One circle is fixed whilst the other moves, rolling without slipping, all the way round. How many times does the moving coin revolve before returning to P?
  • Flipping Twisty Matrices
    problem

    Flipping twisty matrices

    Age
    14 to 18
    Challenge level
    filled star empty star empty star
    Investigate the transformations of the plane given by the 2 by 2 matrices with entries taking all combinations of values 0, -1 and +1.
  • John's train is on time
    problem

    John's train is on time

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    filled star filled star filled star
    A train leaves on time. After it has gone 8 miles (at 33mph) the driver looks at his watch and sees that the hour hand is exactly over the minute hand. When did the train leave the station?
  • Napoleon's Theorem
    problem

    Napoleon's theorem

    Age
    14 to 18
    Challenge level
    filled star filled star filled star
    Triangle ABC has equilateral triangles drawn on its edges. Points P, Q and R are the centres of the equilateral triangles. What can you prove about the triangle PQR?
  • Transforming the Letters
    problem

    Transforming the letters

    Age
    7 to 11
    Challenge level
    filled star empty star empty star
    What happens to these capital letters when they are rotated through one half turn, or flipped sideways and from top to bottom?
  • Shady Symmetry
    problem

    Shady symmetry

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
    filled star empty star empty star

    How many different symmetrical shapes can you make by shading triangles or squares?

  • Rots and Refs
    problem

    Rots and refs

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
    filled star empty star empty star
    Follow hints using a little coordinate geometry, plane geometry and trig to see how matrices are used to work on transformations of the plane.
  • Transformation Tease
    problem

    Transformation tease

    Age
    7 to 11
    Challenge level
    filled star filled star filled star
    What are the coordinates of this shape after it has been transformed in the ways described? Compare these with the original coordinates. What do you notice about the numbers?
  • Same Shapes
    problem

    Same shapes

    Age
    5 to 7
    Challenge level
    filled star filled star filled star
    How can these shapes be cut in half to make two shapes the same shape and size? Can you find more than one way to do it?
  • In a Spin
    problem

    In a spin

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
    filled star filled star filled star
    What is the volume of the solid formed by rotating this right angled triangle about the hypotenuse?