October Challenge - Years 3 & 4

Tea Time

Mrs Jones loves drinking tea!

At 6 am she drinks two cups of tea.

Then every two hours she drinks three more cups until 10 pm when she drinks two cups before bed.

Altogether, how many cups of tea does she drink in one day?

Solution:
25 cups of tea

October Challenge - Years 5 & 6

Food for thought

Max was lazing on the beach when he was feeling peckish. He went to the café and bought 2 iced buns and 1 lolly. It cost him 80 pence. Dave came along just as Max was finishing the iced bun.

"Hey, where's mine?" he shouted.

"All gone!" muttered Max, feeling rather guilty.

"Well, I'll just get my own then," said Dave. "I'll show you!" Showing off, Dave bought 3 iced buns and 2 lollies. It cost him £1.30. He took them back and sat down next to Max and then ate all the buns in one go.

Five minutes later: "Err, I don't feel very well," groaned Dave, "Would you like to buy the lollies off me?"

"OK," said Max, "How much did they cost?"

Good question: How much did each lolly cost?

Solution:
Each lolly cost 20p.

It might have taken some trial and improvement to solve this question. You could make a reasonable guess for the cost of a lolly and then work out what an iced bun would cost using Max's total. Does it work for Dave's total as well? Adjust the amount until you find numbers that work.

Welcome back!

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer holiday.  As the new school year starts, I have another selection of monthly Maths problems to challenge and excite you.  At the start of each month I will post three Maths Challenges - one for Years 1&2, one for Years 3&4 and one for Years 5&6.  The purpose of the problems is to provide an opportunity for you to engage with your children in some mathematical problem solving.  The solution is not as important as the effort that you put in and the discussion you have along the way.  Children who attempt the problems or even find an end solution are encouraged to hand in their work to the Maths Challenge Box in the picture book library by the end of the month.  The problems for this September are listed below this blog entry.

Have fun,
Mrs. Hopkins

September Challenge - Years 1 & 2

Here are two dice.
 

If you add up the dots on the top you will get 8.
 

Find two dice to roll yourself. 

Add the numbers that are on the top.

What other totals could you get if you roll the dice again?

Notes for adults:
You will need two dice to play this game. 

The children can count the total number of spots on the dice or add them together using number facts they already know.
Record the results and explore the different totals that you can get.
Help them to find all the possible combinations (although not all combinations are necessary for your solution).

Some guiding questions:

Can you make a bigger/smaller total?

What is the highest total you could make?
What is the lowest total you could make?
If one dice shows 6, what could the other dice be showing?

How will you know when you've found all the totals?  

Solutions: 

Possible totals include 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

September Challenge - Years 3 & 4

Number Detective

You need to be a detective to uncover the value of my secret number.  Follow the clues below.  You must use the clues in the order given.

a) What is my number?

b) What is the least number of clues you need to use to be absolutely certain of the value of my number?

The clues:

1. I am a three digit number.

2. I am an odd number.

3. I am divisible by 5.

4. Each of my digits is different.

5. My digits add up to 8.

6. The tens digit is smaller than the hundreds digit.

7. I am less than 300.

8. I have only one even digit.  

Solution:

Work through each clue one by one.
1. _ _ _
2. Must have 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 in the units place.
3. Must end in 5 or 0, so _ _ 5.
4. The hundreds and tens place cannot be 5.
5. 5 + ? = 8 so the hundreds and tens digit must add to 3, so the number could be 215,125 or 305.
6. It could be 215 or 305.
7. It can only be 215.

Seven clues are needed.

September Challenge - Years 5 & 6

The Largest Number

Using the numbers 2, 4, 6 and 8, the multiplication sign, the addition sign and the equals sign, what is the largest number you can make? You may only use each digit and sign once, but you don't have to use all of the signs.

Hint:  The question has referred to the 2, 4 6 and 8 as digits (not numbers) so it is possible to put digits together to make a larger number.  For example, the digits 2 and 4 can be used to make the number 24 (twenty-four) or 42 (forty-two).

Solution:  The biggest number you can make is simply by rearranging the digits to make a four-digit number - 8642.  You don't need to use a calculation.

Well done if you found 64 x 82 = 5248.