TRIPLETS

Find as many sets of triplets as possible which add up to 36

14 15 12 16
36 9 7 14
13 11 10 13
11 12 15 17
Triplets

Teacher: Collect together students' findings by clicking on the numbers above.

They don't add up to 36

A Mathematics Lesson Starter Of The Day


Topics: Starter | Arithmetic | Mental Methods

  • Mike Sendrove, Salt Grammar School, UK.
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  • A really useful set of resources - thanks. Is the collection available on CD? Are solutions available?
  • Transum,
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  • Sorry Mike, because some of the starters link to live data on the Internet there is no CD version. Thanks for your comments.
  • Mrs Lewis, Year 8, Hartford High School
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  • My class worked on this for 5 minutes individually and then we collated the results. As a class they were able to find 15 different combinations.
  • Mrs. Babb's 4th Period, Woodruff High School
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  • We only found 11...Are you sure there are 15?
  • Asteroids - Yr3, Otford, Kent
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  • We work hard on this for our early work and found 18. We're very proud of ourselves for being so smart.
  • Mr Morriss, Montgmery High School
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  • Love these types of starter as they are great for any ability. They get the students motivated if they can see that you value their answers, I collected the results on the whiteboard but had to write them all out which was a bit time consuming and would have taken longer had I got the students to do it. To make it more practical to do this, if it was made more interactive so either the teacher or student could use a whiteboard pen or click on the three numbers and it writes the numbers they picked at the side to the class can see them and if they repeat one it shows them by highlighting that its already been found. Would be a massive help with these type of starters. But the website is great please keep them coming, my classes and I love them.
  • Transum,
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  • Good idea Mr Morriss. The squares above are now clickable as you described. Thanks for your comments.
  • Year 8, Codsall Middle School
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  • We found 38 and are very proud! :).
  • Mr Chadwick, Concord Junior School
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  • We found 24 using all sorts of different combinations!
  • Mr Vairy, Corfe Hills School
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  • My year 10s destroyed this!
  • #DJStar, Kristin
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  • Switch round the numbers on one equation and it gives you like 5...
  • Mr Kavanagh's Fifth Class, Cork, Ireland
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  • We managed 36 different combinations, however we did use numbers twice and allowed all different arrangements of numbers in a sum.
  • Jack Johnson, Island School Hong Kong ESF School
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  • My class found 39, We are pretty good at this! (Year 7's).
  • Mr Matthews, Coolest Year 9s Ever
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  • We got 66 different combinations, so there (raspberry noise)....does the order count?
  • Mr C, COPS
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  • My Y6 class from Cherry Orchard DESTROYED this to the point that it didn't allow us to enter any more. YOLO.
  • Mr Holmes, Year 3 And 4 Maths Class.
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  • We found 38 different ways of making 38. Our class did as well as a Year 8 class!!
  • Buscksburn Maths, Mr Gray
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  • Sophie, The Best Home School Ever!
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  • I did this individually and I got 50!!!!
    This is so much fun!
    Thanks Transum!

How did you use this starter? Can you suggest how teachers could present or develop this resource? Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for Maths teachers anywhere in the world.
Click here to enter your comments.

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Answers

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Note to teacher: Doing this activity once with a class helps students develop strategies. It is only when they do this activity a second time that they will have the opportunity to practise those strategies. That is when the learning is consolidated. Click the button above to regenerate another version of this starter from random numbers.


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It is often very difficult choosing Christmas presents for family and friends but so here are some seasonal, mathematics-related gifts chosen and recommended by Transum Mathematics.

Go Genius Maths

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How Not To Be Wrong

How Not To Be Wrong

The maths we learn in school can seem like an abstract set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In fact, Jordan Ellenberg shows us, maths touches on everything we do, and a little mathematical knowledge reveals the hidden structures that lie beneath the world's messy and chaotic surface. In How Not to be Wrong, Ellenberg explores the mathematician's method of analyzing life, from the everyday to the cosmic, showing us which numbers to defend, which ones to ignore, and when to change the equation entirely. Along the way, he explains calculus in a single page, describes Gödel's theorem using only one-syllable words, and reveals how early you actually need to get to the airport.

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Graphic Display Calculator

This handheld device and companion software are designed to generate opportunities for classroom exploration and to promote greater understanding of core concepts in the mathematics and science classroom. TI-Nspire technology has been developed through sound classroom research which shows that "linked multiple representation are crucial in development of conceptual understanding and it is feasible only through use of a technology such as TI-Nspire, which provides simultaneous, dynamically linked representations of graphs, equations, data, and verbal explanations, such that a change in one representation is immediately reflected in the others.

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Calculator

Apple iPad Pro

The analytics show that more and more people are accessing Transum Mathematics via an iPad as it is so portable and responsive. The iPad has so many other uses in addition to solving Transum's puzzles and challenges and it would make an excellent gift for anyone.

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Before giving an iPad as a Christmas gift you could add a link to iPad Maths to the home screen.

Craig Barton's Tips for Teachers

Teaching is complex. But there are simple ideas we can enact to help our teaching be more effective. This book contains over 400 such ideas." more... #ad

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Another Craig Barton Book

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The films in this ambitious series offer clear, accessible explanations of important mathematical ideas but are also packed with engaging anecdotes, fascinating biographical details, and pivotal episodes in the lives of the great mathematicians. Engaging, enlightening and entertaining, the series gives viewers new and often surprising insights into the central importance of mathematics, establishing this discipline to be one of humanity s greatest cultural achievements. This DVD contains all four programmes from the BBC series.

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Christmas Maths

This book provides a wealth of fun activities with a Christmas theme. Each photocopiable worksheet is matched to the Numeracy Strategy and compatible with the Scottish 5-14 Guidelines. This series is designed for busy teachers in the late Autumn term who are desperate for materials that are relevant and interesting and that can be completed with minimun supervision.

All the activities are suitable for use by class teachers, supply teachers, SEN teachers and classroom assistants and cover topics such as 'How many partridges did the true love give all together?' and 'Filling a sleigh with presents by rolling a dice!'. Children will have lots of fun working through the Christmas Maths themes but also gain valuable skills along the way.

A great source of ideas and another reasonably priced stocking filler. more... #ad

A Compendium Of 	Mathematical Methods

A Compendium Of Mathematical Methods

How many different methods do you know to solve simultaneous equations? To multiply decimals? To find the nth term of a sequence?

A Compendium of Mathematical Methods brings together over one hundred different approaches from classrooms all over the world, giving curious mathematicians the opportunity to explore fascinating methods that they've never before encountered.

If you teach mathematics to any age group in any country, you are guaranteed to learn lots of new things from this delightful book. It will deepen your subject knowledge and enhance your teaching, whatever your existing level of expertise. It will inspire you to explore new approaches with your pupils and provide valuable guidance on explanations and misconceptions. more... #ad

Math with Bad Drawings

I had been tutoring the wonderful Betsy for five years. When the day came for our last ever session together before the end of her Year 13, I received this beautiful book as a gift of appreciation.

This a very readable book by Ben Orlin. I'm really enjoying the humour in the writing and the drawings are great.

Ben Orlin answers maths' three big questions: Why do I need to learn this? When am I ever going to use it? Why is it so hard? The answers come in various forms-cartoons, drawings, jokes, and the stories and insights of an empathetic teacher who believes that mathematics should belong to everyone. more... #ad

Click the images above to see all the details of these gift ideas and to buy them online.

Maths T-Shirts

Maths T-shirts on Amazon
Maths T-Shirts on Amazon

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Educational Technology on Amazon

 

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Laptops In Lessons

Teacher, do your students have access to computers such as tablets, iPads or Laptops?  This page was really designed for projection on a whiteboard but if you really want the students to have access to it here is a concise URL for a version of this page without the comments:

Transum.org/go/?Start=April10

However it would be better to assign one of the student interactive activities below.

Laptops In Lessons

Here is the URL which will take them to student version of this activity.

Transum.org/go/?to=Triplets

Student Activity

 


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