A Misfit is a character with a head, body and a pair of legs. Drag three cards into the frame to create a Misfit. How many different Misfits can you create?
There are three different heads, three different bodies and three different pairs of legs. Each time you create a unique Misfit a small snapshot will appear below. The order in which the snapshots are arranged may help you to do this activity efficiently.
You can earn a trophy if you find all of the different Misfits.
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Those who have a Transum Subscription are able to see in this section of the webpage all of the different Misfits it is possible to make.
This activity is designed to introduce an important mathematical concept; that of developing an efficient strategy for problem solving. Pupils should be encouraged to explain their thought processes while working through the problem or even make a list, table or diagram.
A systematic list provides a way to organise the information of the problem in a methodical way. The system employed used should be understandable and clear so that the pupil can verify its logic and accuracy.
For this activity, as the pupil finds a Misfit, a snapshot appears on the right side of the page. As more Misfits are found it can be seen that the placing of the snapshots is not random. They are deliberately placed in a table where the rows, columns and groups of nine snapshots have something in common. This could help a pupil see the kind of systematic listing that helps ensure that all Misfits are found and no duplicates are made.
A similar activity and one which benefits from a systematic approach is called Striped Sweets and even more activities can be found on the Combinations and Permutations page.
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See the National Curriculum page for links to related online activities and resources.
