Drag this handle to use the spatula to toss the pancakes.
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Transum.orgThis web site contains over a thousand free mathematical activities for teachers and pupils. Click here to go to the main page which links to all of the resources available. Please contact me if you have any suggestions or questions.
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Mathematicians are not the people who find Maths easy; they are the people who enjoy how mystifying, puzzling and hard it is. Are you a mathematician? Comment recorded on the 3 October 'Starter of the Day' page by S Mirza, Park High School, Colne: "Very good starters, help pupils settle very well in maths classroom." Comment recorded on the 17 November 'Starter of the Day' page by Amy Thay, Coventry: "Thank you so much for your wonderful site. I have so much material to use in class and inspire me to try something a little different more often. I am going to show my maths department your website and encourage them to use it too. How lovely that you have compiled such a great resource to help teachers and pupils. |
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Featured ActivityLemon Law A fascinating digit changing challenge. Change the numbers on the apples so that the number on the lemon is the given total. Can you figure out, by understanding place value, how this works? |
Numeracy"Numeracy is a proficiency which is developed mainly in Mathematics but also in other subjects. It is more than an ability to do basic arithmetic. It involves developing confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires understanding of the number system, a repertoire of mathematical techniques, and an inclination and ability to solve quantitative or spatial problems in a range of contexts. Numeracy also demands understanding of the ways in which data are gathered by counting and measuring, and presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables." Secondary National Strategy, Mathematics at key stage 3 |
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Go MathsLearning and understanding Mathematics, at every level, requires learner engagement. Mathematics is not a spectator sport. Sometimes traditional teaching fails to actively involve students. One way to address the problem is through the use of interactive activities and this web site provides many of those. The Go Maths main page links to more activities designed for students in upper Secondary/High school. | ||
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© Transum Mathematics :: This activity can be found online at:
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The objective is to stack all of the pancakes in order with the largest at the bottom and the smallest at the top. To do this drag the spatula down the page then insert it carefully between any two pancakes or below the bottom pancake. When you release your mouse button all of the pancakes above the spatula will be tossed, which in this case means they will be turned over so their order will be reversed. Continue the process until you have the ordered stack.
Level 1 - The 4 pancake puzzle.
Level 2 - The 5 pancake puzzle.
Level 3 - The 6 pancake puzzle.
Level 4 - The 7 pancake puzzle.
Level 5 - The 8 pancake puzzle.
Extension activity: Work out the smallest number of tosses required to order a stack of pancakes regardless of how much they are initially mixed up.
More Puzzles including lesson Starters, visual aids, investigations and self-marking exercises.
Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.
Read more about Pancake Numbers in the excellent book Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries by Professor Ian Stewart
Transum,
Monday, September 17, 2018
"The topic of pancake numbers is the subject of the only well-known mathematics paper by Microsoft founder Bill Gates (as William Gates). The paper was titled Bounds for Sorting by Prefix Reversal and was published in 1979. It describes an efficient algorithm for pancake sorting."