Issue 13 March 2021
+
2 ∞ & Beyond! Maths Bulletin
“Our vision is to be the school of choice for our local community, developing successful young people with high aspirations, who show respect for all and endeavour to become the very best that they can be.”
Welcome Welcome to the latest edition of our Maths Bulletin. I am sure many of you are aware of the government’s plan to reopen schools from the 8th March, the Maths team here at Roding Valley can’t wait to welcome all of you back in after this period of lockdown. For many the lockdown has been difficult but the whole RVHS community has once again proven how hard working and resilient we can all be during these testing times. Mr Qureshi, KS3 Coordinator Welcome to the latest Maths Bulletin. With the rollout of the vaccine starting to have a positive impact protecting the nation, I believe I can safely speak for the whole department when I say that we are all thrilled that students are coming back to school. In the meantime, take a moment to read through our bulletin. Join us in celebrating strong student work and the winners of the TT Rockstars competition, have a go at the chess challenge and peruse our intelligent mathematical memes at your leisure! Mr Dennis, KS5 Coordinator
House Points Heroes! Rank
House
Points
1st
2120
2nd
1755
3rd
1605
4th
1340
5th
1330
Well done Pankhurst House with an outstanding 2120 points accumulated so far! Pankhurst snatched the lead up from 3rd last time with an amazing performance in the Intermediate Maths Challenge and continuing their excellent performance in the TT Rockstars Competition. Murray came 2nd in the Maths Challenge but Hawking managed to snatch 2nd place overall with their performance in the TT Rockstars Competition. Well done all for taking part. With the current TT Rockstars Competition ending, you can still get points by taking part in the various quizzes here in this bulletin. We also have the Junior Maths Challenge coming up in April for Year 7 and 8 students. The results can still all change in the Maths House Points Table!
2|Page
Pi Article The 14th of March is known as Pi Day (03/14 if using the American date system). Understanding pi is as easy as counting to one, two, 3.1415926535… OK, we'll be here for a while if we keep that up. Here's what's important: Pi (π) is the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet and is used to represent the most widely known mathematical constant. Pi is an irrational number, which means that it is a real number that cannot be expressed by a simple fraction. That is because pi is what mathematicians call an "infinite decimal" — after the decimal point, the digits go on forever and ever. By definition, pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. In other words, pi equals the circumference divided by the diameter. Conversely, the circumference of a circle is equal to pi times the diameter. No matter how large or small a circle is, pi will always work out to be the same number. That number equals approximately 3.14, but pi's ubiquity goes beyond maths. The number crops up in the natural world, too. It appears wherever there is a circle such as the disk of the sun, the spiral of the DNA double helix, the pupil of the eye, the concentric rings that travel outward from splashes in ponds. Pi also appears in physics that describes waves, such as ripples of light and sound. It even enters the equation that defines how precisely we can know the state of the universe, known as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. One of the things we would love you to try is an experiment to calculate the value of pi. This involves dropping cocktail sticks or similar objects onto a grid of parallel lines and recording how many times the sticks land crossing a line. Watch the video below and give it a go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mSarIP_Uhk Send us a picture on Twitter of your experiment and your results including the number of sticks used and how many crossed a line. We will collate all the results together to see how close we can get to pi! House Points will be given to all those who take part. Mr Qureshi, KS3 Coordinator
UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge Results Last month, many of our students took part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge. The results of the Challenge are now in. 26 of our students were awarded a certificate for outstanding performance. 14 of those were Bronze, 9 Silver and 3 Gold Certificates. Well done to Ruby in Year 9 and Joseph in Year 10 for achieving Gold. Skye in Year 10 was also awarded Gold but also achieved the Best in School award. Well done! We also have 4 students progressing to the next round, the Kangaroo Round. In addition to those named above, Louis in Year 9 will also be taking part. You will all be contacted soon with the details. We have one final Challenge coming up, the Junior Maths Challenge for Year 7 and 8. Details will be shared soon on how to take part.
3|Page
Student Work We are very pleased with the quality of the work that is being completed at home. Whilst we do not have the space to show all work that is being completed, here is a small selection.
Excellent work on Angles in Quadrilaterals by Tudor in Year 7 and Interior and Exterior Angles in Polygons by Savannah in Year 9. Mrs Nisar was very impressed!
Mr Naidoo was very pleased with his Year 11 class with their exam practice. Well done Jack, Macey and Daniel.
Some excellent work by Chloe, Levi, Olympia and Zornitsa in their A Level studies. Well done all!
4|Page
Well done Amy and Lana in Year 8 and Antonio and Iman in Year 9. Mr Rahman is very pleased with how hard you are working and the quality of your work.
Mr Edeko’s Year 7 class working on Coordinates, well done Erick and Tiffany! Also Jack in Year 10 working on Probability.
More examples of our hardworking Year 11 students preparing for their PPEs, this time from Mr Edeko’s class. Well done Kevin, Ruoxi and Zeynep!
Make sure to submit you work on Google Classroom and your work may be included in future issues.
5|Page
Puzzling Puzzles! Two puzzles for you to try. The first correct solution will be awarded 50 House Points!
Maths Cross Number Your goal is to fill in the whole grid with numbers that are the answers to the calculations on the right hand side. Similar to a normal crossword puzzle. Across 1. 15 across plus 129 3. Millimetres in a centimetre 4. Months in a year 6. 12 down plus nine 7. 10 across plus 967 9. 6 down plus sixty-four 10. 1149 plus 997 12. 6 across minus thirteen 13. Seconds in a minute 14. 11 down plus thirty-eight 15. 13 across times four
6|Page
Down 1. Millimetres in three centimetres 2. 9 down plus 1714 3. 1 down minus seventeen 5. 3 down plus eight 6. 7 down times two 7. 8 down plus thirty-six 8. Minutes in five hours 9. 10 across plus 5256 11. 14 down minus thirty-four 12. 3 across plus forty-four 14. 3 across times five
KenKen Puzzle
24×
Your goal is to fill in the whole grid with numbers making sure no number is repeated in any row or column.
7+
2÷ 6+ 24×
The numbers in each section must equal to the number indicated using the only given operation. For example, the top left section has a 5+ and two boxes. So, you need two numbers that add up to 5.
3-
Try solving this puzzle using the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. You can use them multiple times but only once in each row or column.
Send in your solution to esmith@rodingvalley.net or post a picture of your solution on Twitter using @RVMathematics. Correct answers will be awarded 50 House points for each puzzle! Miss Harbutt and Miss Smith
Chess Corner Can you solve these two problems? In each of these problems white plays first. Mate in 2 Problem
Mate in 3 Problem
If you think you know either of the answers, please share on Twitter using @RVMathematics. The first correct solution will be awarded 50 House Points for each problem! Last weeks solution:
Mate in 2: 1. Rxf7+ Kxf7, 2. Qg7#, Checkmate! Mate in 3: 1. Re1+ Kxd4, 2. c3+ Kd3, 3. Rd5#, Checkmate! Mr Dennis, KS5 Coordinator
7|Page
TT Rockstars Welcome back to our TT Rockstars Times Table Challenge!! Well done to everybody who has continued to take part. Your class teachers are very proud of your achievements! The goal every week is to collect Coins by completing the times table challenges in any of the Gigs. Every week the Top 5 students with the most Coins collected for that week will earn House Points! Points on offer are as follows: 1st place: 50 points, 2nd place: 40 points, 3rd place: 30 points, 4th place: 20 points, 5th place: 10 points. This is a great way to improve your times tables and help your House get points. So well done to everyone for taking part! The winners for Week 4 are:
The winners for Week 5 are:
Year 7
Year 7
1st place – Ahiyan in
1st place – Roma in
2nd place – Roma in
2nd place – Ahiyan in
3rd place – Archie in
3rd place – Johnny in
4th place – Taryn in
4th place – Archie in
5th place – Xavier in
5th place – Taryn in
Year 8
Year 8
1st place – Guney in
1st place – Sonny in
2nd place – Tom in
2nd place – Alex in
Year 9
Year 9
1st place – Poppie in
1st place – Poppie in
2nd place – Peter in
2nd place – Nikita in
3rd place – Kieron in
3rd place – Peter in
4th place – Liorah in
4th place – Alexander in
5th place – Nikita in
5th place – Libby in
CONGRATULATIONS everyone!! You have all earned House points!
Shout out to Rajdeep, Johal, Beck, Mirabelle and Kai in Year 7 for almost making the Top 5! Only 2 Year 8s taking part each week means 120 House points thrown away instead of being awarded! As this is the last week of lockdown, the TT Rockstars competition will be coming to an end. We will be relaunching it and will let you know of they details when it is ready. Well done to everyone for taking part! Mr Rahman
8|Page
UKMT Maths Challenge Junior Maths Challenge Question One of the three symbols +, –, x is inserted somewhere between the digits of 2016 to give a new number. For example, 20 – 16 gives 4. How many of the following four numbers can be obtained in this way? 36 A0
B1
195
C2
207 320 D3
E4
Intermediate Maths Challenge Question The net shown consists of squares and equilateral triangles. The net is folded to form a rhombicuboctahedron, as shown. When the face marked P is placed face down on a table, which face will be facing up? A
B
C
D
E
Senior Maths Challenge Question The diagram shows a circle with radius 1 that rolls without slipping around the inside of a square with sides of length 5. The circle rolls once around the square, returning to its starting point. What distance does the centre of the circle travel? A 16 - 2π
B 12
C6+π
D 20 - 2π
E 20
If you think you know any of the answers, please share on Twitter using @RVMathematics. You will be awarded 50 House Points for each correct question! Mrs Nisar
Origami Challenge Did you try to make the dinosaur in the last issue? I thought we would try a simple turtle this week but I found this to be quite challenging with some tricky folds. Start with square paper, follow this link to make one if you do not have any
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPxi1dIWRws And now follow the instructions here for making your own turtle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbUI7lqO5t0 Start with the darker side folded in to make the shell darker, if you are using double sided paper. Wish I knew that before I started mine! Post pictures of your one on Twitter using @RVMathematics. Mr Rahman, 2nd i/c and KS4 Coordinator
9|Page
Puzzling Puzzles and UKMT Maths Challenge Answers UKMT Maths Challenge Answers
Cross Number
Junior A We denote the label joining m and n as (m + n). the labels which are multiples of 3 are (1 + 2), (1 + 5), (1 + 8), (2 + 4), (2 + 7), (3 + 6), (4 + 5), (4 + 8), (5 + 7), (7 + 8). So 10 of the labels are multiples of 3. Intermediate E The tetrahedron has 6 edges and 4 vertices, so the required product is 6 × 4 = 24.
Senior
KenKen
D Expressed as a product of its prime factors, 10! is 2 × 5 × 3 × 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 7 × 2 × 3 × 5 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 2 which is 2⁸ × 3⁴ × 5² × 7. This can be written as (2⁴ × 3² × 5)² × 7 so the largest integer k such that k² is a factor of 10! is 2⁴ × 3² × 5 which is 720. Well done Alexander (Y10) for getting all 3 of the UKMT Maths Challenge questions correct. Tudor (Y7) and Kevin (Y9) also managed to get 1 correct each. House Points have been awarded to all of you!!
Memorable Maths Meme Thank you to Kevin in Year 9 who shared a maths meme with us for this bulletin.
We have also included this one shared by Mrs Thompson. Do you have a Maths meme you would like to share? Email Miss Harbutt at eharbutt@rodingvalley.net and we might include it in the next issue!
10 | P a g e
Talking Time This time at home has highlighted the importance of communication. If you are struggling with your Maths work and would like some help, don’t hesitate to contact your teachers. We are all here to help you as much as we can whilst you are working from home. We look forward to welcoming you back to school soon! Here are your teacher’s email addresses just in case you have forgotten: Mr Edeko
oedeko@rodingvalley.net
Mr Rahman
shrahman@rodingvalley.net
Mr Dennis
mdennis@rodingvalley.net
Mr Qureshi
zqureshi@rodingvalley.net
Miss Dyer
sdyer@rodingvalley.net
Miss Harbutt
eharbutt@rodingvalley.net
Mr Naidoo
knaidoo@rodingvalley.net
Mrs Nisar
anisar@rodingvalley.net
Mr Rahman
ssrahman@rodingvalley.net
Miss Smith
esmith@rodingvalley.net
Mrs Thompson cthompson@rodingvalley.net
Mr Vermaak
mvermaak@rodingvalley.net
11 | P a g e