Solving factorised quadratics treasure hunt

Teaching notes

This activity gives practice solving quadratic equations. The secret message element
means that the answers can quickly be checked by the teacher.

The activity is designed to be completed in pairs or small groups and can be used in two
ways:

Either
Give each group a set of the cards (20 in total). The students arrange them into a
continuous loop to find the hidden message.

Or
Print the cards onto A3 card or paper, cut them out and stick them around the
classroom. Give each group a copy of the answer grid and send them to a starting
card (try to give each group a different starting card or stagger the start times to
avoid groups simply following each other). Students solve the given problem and
move around the room to find the next card in the sequence.

Solution

Question: WHAT IS A DISCRIMINANT?

2 4
Answer: The square root part of the quadratic formula =
2

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 Solving factorised quadratics treasure hunt

Name: _____________________________ Date: _______________________________

Letter Equation Solutions

Once you have solved all the equations, write down the question formed by the letters
and then find the answer to the question.

Question:

____________________________________________________________________________________

Answer:

______________________________________________________________________________

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 Solving factorised quadratics treasure hunt

The answer is The answer is

x = -1 & x = -1 x = -1 / 2 & x = 2 / 3
[T] [I]
Next question is Next question is
(3x - 2)(x - 2) = 0 (4x - 1)(x + 3) = 0
The answer is The answer is
x = -2 & x = 3 x = 2 /3 & x = 2
[A] [I]
Next question is Next question is
(x + 1)(x + 1) = 0 (3x + 2)(x + 2) = 0
The answer is The answer is
x=1&x=4 x=1&x=1
[R] [A]
Next question is Next question is
(2x + 1)(4x - 3) = 0 (x + 4)(x - 3)= 0
The answer is The answer is
x = -3/4 & x = -4 x = 1 / 2 & x = -4 / 3
[M] [A]
Next question is Next question is
(2x - 1)(x - 2) = 0 (4x + 1)(x - 1) = 0
The answer is The answer is
x = -1/2 & x = -2 x = -4 & x = 3
[C] [D]
Next question is Next question is
(x - 1)(x - 4) = 0 (2x + 1)(3x 2) = 0

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 Solving factorised quadratics treasure hunt

The answer is The answer is

x = 0 & x = 3 /2 x = 2 & x = -3
[N] [T]
Next question is Next question is
(2x - 1)(3x + 4) = 0 x(x + 1) = 0
The answer is The answer is
x = -1 / 2 & x = 3 / 4 x = 1 /2 & x = 2
[I] [I]
Next question is Next question is
(4x + 3)(x + 4) = 0 x(2x - 3) = 0
The answer is The answer is
x = -2/3 & x = -2 x= 0 & x = -1
[S] [?]
Next question is Next question is
(x - 1)(x - 1)= 0 (3x + 1)(3x 2) = 0
The answer is The answer is
x = 1/4 & x = -3 x = -1 / 4 & x = 1
[S] [N]
Next question is Next question is
(2x + 1)(x + 2) = 0 (x - 2)(x + 3) = 0
The answer is The answer is
x = -1 / 3 & x = 2 / 3 x = -3/2 & x = -1
[W] [H]
Next question is Next question is
(2x + 3)(x + 1) = 0 (x + 2)(x - 3) = 0

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