Sign In | Starter Of The Day | Tablesmaster | Fun Maths | Maths Map | Topics | More
This is the Transum Newsletter for the month of March 2025. It begins, as usual, with the puzzle of the month.
Addel Adgood, a hard-working student, has earned a number of trophies in the last month. She wants to share them among her three younger brothers, according to these fractions of the total:
At first glance, it seems impossible to divide the number of trophies she has exactly into halves, thirds, and eighths. Then, someone suggests 'borrowing' one extra trophy from a friend, temporarily increasing the number of trophies Addel has. Now the given fractions are possible and there will be one trophy left over, which can be returned to the friend.
How many trophies did Addel initially have?
If you get an answer, I'd love to hear how you solved the puzzle (or your students solved it). Drop me an email at: gro.musnarT@rettelsweN
While you think about that, here are some of the key resources added to the Transum website during the last month.
Unitary Method: Just when you thought you were really proficient solving proportion questions using the unitary method, you reach level three in which algebra is introduced. I hope your students enjoy the challenge.
Scale Setting: Twenty questions requiring students to place the red pointer on the scale so it matches the target number as closely as possible. This could be used as a warm-up before moving on to the more substantial Reading Scales set of exercises.
Counting To and Fro is adapted from a 1926 puzzle called Pussy and the Mouse. You can give Level 1 to Year 5, but Level 4 is strictly senior students and rocket scientists. Each level is based on a different context ranging from kittens with hats to aliens with funny names.
Octagon Loops was originally developed in England in 1992 by SEAC (the national assessment agency) as an assessment tool for students. Packs of card octagons were made available to schools so that students could make the loops on their desks. Now there is an interactive version of this investigation on the Transum website.
There is a new Starter for the 8th February. Spin the Wheel randomly selects a number from 2 to 9. Whichever number appears becomes the 'theme' for nine questions in each of the following topics: arithmetic, decimals, percentages and fractions. If you prefer not to use a specific topic, simply hide it by clicking the button in the top-right corner of its panel.
The questions have been designed so that most can be worked out mentally, though a few may require pencil and paper. As the teacher, you can decide whether all students should copy down the questions or if a quick answer-by-show-of-hands is a better fit for your lesson plan.
Interesting dates for March with maths-related activities on Transum:
4 March - Pancake Day
6 March - World Book Day
14 March - Pi Day
17 March - Saint Patrick's Day
21 March - Poetry Day
Don't forget you can listen to this month's podcast which is the audio version of this newsletter.
Finally, the answer to last month's puzzle, which was:
How many different asymmetrical triangles can be drawn by joining three of the vertices of a regular hexagon?
The first five puzzlers were: Rick, Mala, Shreyak, Chloe and Esther.
There are 10 different triangles that can be drawn to include point A.
Of these 6 are asymmetrical.
Multiply this by 6 as there are six vertices. 6x6 = 36
Now divide that by 3 as each different asymmetrical triangle will have been counted three times due to the three vertices. 36 ÷ 3 = 12
Therefore there are 12 different asymmetrical triangles that can be drawn by joining three of the vertices of a regular hexagon and here they are:
There is a worksheet for subscribers should you wish to turn this puzzle into an investigation with your pupils.
That's all for now,
John
P.S. Some say that the term zero was introduced by Brahmagupta.
Thanks for nothing!
Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback on this newsletter and the resources on this website so that they can be made even more useful for those learning Mathematics anywhere in the world. Click here to enter your comments.
Rick,
Saturday, February 1, 2025
"If I assume the points of the hexagon are labeled 1 through 6, connecting lines from 1 to 3, 1 to 4, and 1 to 5 produces two asymmetrical triangles, but they are identical, so they do not represent different asymmetrical triangles, right? Sol, this would only produce an answer of one.
[Transum: Think of each triangle as being described by three letters. In your example they would be ACD and ADE (where the order of the letters does not matter). That counts as two asymmetrical triangle in my mind when I wrote the puzzle. However your interpretation of the wording is equally valid and would indeed lead to an answer of one.]"
Transum,
Saturday, February 22, 2025