Year Two Blog » problem solving

More systematic maths…

Mr Sloan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:27:30 +0000

We had a lot of fun working sysetematically in maths today. Here is a new problem for you…

I made 15p. Here is how I did it:

10p+5p=15p

How else can you make 15p? Can you find all of the different ways using the coins 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p. You can use more than one of each coin. How will you know if you have found EVERY way? Leave your answers as comments.

Can you be systematic in your maths work?

Mr Sloan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:40:14 +0000

We are trying to work systematically in maths this week.

Here are some pictures of us solving a problem. We had to find EVERY way to make the total of 12 by adding three numbers between 0 and 9. We couldn’t use two of the same number, or simply put the numbers in the wrong order. We set our number sentences out like this:

0+9+3=12

We did it eventually as a class. Some pairs of children did it by themselves too! The children who solved the problem worked SYSTEMATICALLY, making sure that they checked their work carefully.

Can you solve this problem systematically? Leave your answers as comments.

You have these coins:

How many totals can you make? Here is a start:

1p=1p

1p+2p=3p

1p+5p=6p

You can use all four coins, but only once for each number sentence. Don’t try swapping the coins round either – that’s cheating!

Good luck.

Symmetry challenge…

Mr Sloan — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:17:23 +0000

You have 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 blue and 2 green cubes. How many ways can you rearrange them in a line so that the pattern is symmetrical?

How about if you added another pair of cubes? I added two black cubes, one on each end. How many ways could you arrange them now?

Why not have a go at solving the mystery. If you don’t have cubes, you could colour bits of paper… If you think you know the answer, tell us what it is by writing a comment here…

How good are you with symmetry?

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:11:14 +0000

Try one of these fun activities – careful you don’t scramble your brain!

Loads of symmetry games, activities and info here.

Sketch symmetry

Which is the real reflection?

Good luck kids!

The answer is 10, but what is the question?

Mr Sloan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:09:00 +0000

The answer to my maths problem is 10. How many different questions can you think of where the answer is 10? Remember you can make it as simple or complicated as you like, and you can use all of the operations – + X… To show division on a keyboard, use the backslash key: /

Good luck!