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Problem of the Week

Problem B
Plus Primes

The diagram below shows a set of `plus signs' of dierent sizes, each formed from a set of unit
squares. These unit squares can be rearranged to form rectangles of various sizes; for example,
the unit squares in the rst plus sign can form one rectangle with dimensions 1 unit by 5 units.
a) Rearrange the unit squares of each of the other plus signs to form as many rectangles as
possible. Then construct the next three plus signs in this sequence and do the same for
them.

b) Construct a table (or label your diagrams) showing, for each of the six `plus signs', the
number of unit squares and the dimensions of the dierent rectangles which can be
formed.
c) What is special about the number of unit squares in those `plus signs' which can only be
rearranged to form ONE rectangle?
d) Some of the `plus signs' permit rearrangements that are square, a special type of
rectangle. What is special about the number of unit squares in those `plus signs'?
e) What kind of number of unit squares are in the `plus signs' which can be rearranged into
more than one rectangle?
f) After the sixth `plus sign', what will be the next one with a perfect square number of
unit squares?

Strands

Number Sense and Numeration,

Patterning and Algebra