Maths Problem Solving For High Achieving Students - Book 2

Maths Problem Solving for Higher Achieving Students
Finding mathematics resources that both cater to the curriculum requirements of the whole
class and stretch your most eager and capable young mathematicians can be a tall order.
The good news is that you need look no further than the second edition of the Maths
Second edition Number | Book 2
Problem Solving for Higher Achieving Students series. As well as providing introductory
lesson tasks that give all students plenty of materials to work through at the level that is
appropriate to them, it offers enrichment and extension activities for higher achieving
students to work above and beyond the normal mathematics curriculum and develop their
higher-order thinking skills. Students are challenged in a variety of ways, with each of the
three sections providing a different experience of the problem-solving process. The first
section takes a scaffolded approach with three levels of instruction; the second encourages
students to think broadly to solve open-ended problems, recognising that any such
problem has more than one possible answer; and the third presents general word problems
to build on and reinforce the link between literacy and problem solving. Detailed solutions
to questions in all sections are also provided.
Code: EB51135 Code: EB51136

ISBN: 978-1-77655-690-8 ISBN: 978-1-77655-691-5
Title: Maths Problem Solving for Higher Achieving Students
Second edition, Number – Book 2
Author: Ian Bull
Editor: Tanya Tremewan
Designer: Diane Williams
Book code: EB51136
ISBN: 978-1-77655-691-5
Published: 2020
Publisher: Essential Resources Educational Publishers Limited
Australia: New Zealand:
PO Box 906 PO Box 5036
Strawberry Hills Invercargill
NSW 2012
ph: 1800 005 068 ph: 0800 087 376
fax: 1800 981 213 fax: 0800 937 825
Websites: www.essentialresources.com.au
www.essentialresources.co.nz
Copyright: Text: © Ian Bull, 2020
Edition and illustrations: © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Limited, 2020
This second edition is adapted from Ian Bull’s Maths Problem Solving for Higher Achieving Students –
Number, first published by Teaching Solutions in 2010.
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About the author: As well as teaching at a wide range of levels in both state and private schools, Ian Bull has been head of
mathematics and director of gifted and talented education at Melbourne High School. His wealth of experience
in education includes marking Victoria Certificate of Education examinations and writing sections of Australia’s
National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (Naplan) and materials for the Australian National
Curriculum. Ian also speaks regularly at mathematics and gifted and talented conferences on both national and
international forums. A widely published author, he is committed to sharing his educational experiences and
continues to write a range of appealing resources in response to cutting-edge educational issues.
Copyright notice
Schools and teachers who buy this book have permission to reproduce it within their present school
by photocopying, or if in digital format, by printing as well. Quantities should be reasonable for
educational purposes in that school and may not be used for non-educational purposes nor supplied
to anyone else. Copies made from this book, whether by photocopying or printing from a digital file,
are to be included in the sampling surveys of Copyright Licensing Limited (New Zealand) or Copyright
Agency Limited (Australia).
For further information on your copyright obligations, visit:
New Zealand: www.copyright.co.nz, Australia: www.copyright.com.au
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Section 1: Three levels of instruction – lesson, application and extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Teacher notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Activity 1.1: Spending money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Activity 1.2: Sharing and describing items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Activity 1.3: Bucket measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Activity 1.4: Balancing weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Activity 1.5: Consecutive numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Activity 1.6: Missing digits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Section 2: Open-ended problem solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Teacher notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Activity 2.1: A broken calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Activity 2.2: The graduation party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Activity 2.3: Cake-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Activity 2.4: Pascal’s triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Activity 2.5: House numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Activity 2.6: Living in a high rise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Section 3: General word problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Teacher notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Activity 3.1: Mt Everest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Activity 3.2: Large animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Activity 3.3: The human skeleton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Introduction
The Maths Problem Solving for Higher Achieving Students series offers enrichment and extension
activities to challenge students to work above and beyond the normal mathematics curriculum
and develop their higher-order thinking skills. For this purpose, this book uses a three-tiered
structure to provide students with experience in the problem-solving process, giving them plenty
of materials to work through at appropriate levels. Each of the three sections takes a different
approach to challenging students. Detailed solutions to questions in all sections are provided at
the back of this book.
Section 1: Three levels of instruction

In this section, each activity provides three levels of instruction:
• Introductory lesson: This teacher-led, problem-solving lesson gets the whole group or class
on track with the context and concepts required for the activity as a whole. Some teaching
notes and examples are provided, as well as some key questions to stimulate discussion.
• Application: This session builds on and consolidates the concepts and ideas from the
introductory lesson. It is suited to most students in the class.
• Two extension tasks: Students who are ready for a deeper level of thinking about the ideas
can move on to one or both of these tasks after completing the previous two sessions, or
particularly capable students can start on them straight after the introductory lesson.
Section 2: Open-ended problem solving

In this section, students must make the first move in understanding the context of the
question. Because an open-ended problem has more than one answer, encourage students to
take a broad-minded approach rather than focusing on finding a single answer.
Students need to alter their frame of thinking and look at the question in its entirety to identify
multiple stages and multiple solutions from the start. Successful strategies may include: making
lists of possible outcomes; working backwards from the solution; drawing a diagram or picture
to show the possibilities; making a model; and looking for patterns.
While solutions may differ, the approach to open-ended problem solving includes common
elements: understand the question, find an initial solution, examine the nature of that solution
and look for other related situations that lead to finding more solutions. By adopting this
approach, students are better placed to make up investigations and design activities for others.
Section 3: General word problems

This section is designed to fit in at any point of your maths programme. You can use the
questions independently of the previous sections. You also have the choice of presenting
questions individually or all of the questions related to a particular theme.
Literacy has a crucial role in comprehending a problem, using a logical approach to analyse it and
then applying mathematics to work through it and expressing the solutions clearly and coherently.
Moreover, before students can solve a problem, they need to understand it on a holistic level, so
they can uncover smaller details of the problem that they again need to understand. The more
quickly a student can recognise the problem type through language, the more quickly they can
categorise it as involving one or more given branches of mathematics, from which they can begin
the solution process.
You can use the hints for yourself as a quick and easy way to become acquainted with the
activity without having to work through the whole sheet. You can also either copy the hints or
deliver them verbally to get students back on track with the activity if needed.
4 © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

SECTION 1: THREE LEVELS OF INSTRUCTION –
LESSON, APPLICATION AND EXTENSION
Teacher notes
For each activity in this section, present the whole-class introduction, define any relevant terms
and move on to the lesson. Work through the questions on the board or use an interactive
whiteboard or PowerPoint presentation. Discuss how students used different methods to find
their answers. For many activities, students can use trial and error but, with practice, they will
identify better strategies.
The following are more specific notes about the aims of each activity, as well as key definitions
and points to convey in your whole-class introduction.
Activity 1.1: Spending money (pages 8–11)

Aim: To work with decimal numbers in a practical way using money.
Students need to have a sound knowledge of working with decimal numbers

to complete this activity. They can complete the easier lesson and application
sections without a calculator. However, they can use one for the extension
sections so that the emphasis is on thinking through the questions rather than
the slow process of working through lots of decimal calculations by hand.
Convey these key points:

• Decimal numbers are very important in everyday life. We write parts of
dollars using decimal numbers. We use decimal calculations to work
with money such as $2.50 + 60 cents = $2.50 + 0.60 = $3.10. The same calculation using
fractions of dollars would be written as $2 12 + $ 35 = $3 101 , which is almost impossible to
understand. This example shows why we prefer to express money in decimal form.
• Being able to work with decimal numbers is a very important skill in completing this activity.
Activity 1.2: Sharing and describing items

(pages 12–16)
Aims: To divide numbers of cubes or amounts of money into different parts
according to instructions; and to informally introduce the concepts of ratio
and proportion.
Introduce this activity with a class task, setting the scene for the subsequent
tasks. This introductory task focuses on the important skill of using language
to describe mathematics. It has two parts:
1. Whole-class activity practice: Challenge students to describe the collection

of cubes pictured below so that anyone listening could work out how many cubes are in each
pile. (Note: This diagram is also provided for students at the start of 1.2A: Lesson on page 13.)
Students cannot say directly how many cubes are in a pile; instead they have to give clues
such as “Pile 2 has one more cube than pile 4”. Discuss some
ideas for good clues. Draw diagrams to help. (A possible answer
for this image is: Eight cubes are placed into four piles. Piles 2
and 3 have the same number of cubes. Pile 1 has the most cubes
and pile 4 has the fewest cubes.) Draw diagrams to help show
possible answers. Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4
© Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

5
SECTION 1: THREE LEVELS OF INSTRUCTION – TEACHER NOTES
2. Pair game: Organise students into pairs and give each student one cube card at random, face
down (for cube cards, see page 12). Each student writes clues for their partner to work out
how many cubes are in each pile on their card. The students swap clues and each student
uses them to draw what they think are the correct piles of cubes, aiming to use the fewest
clues possible. When a student is confident that they have the correct answer, their partner
shows them the cube card. Students can suggest ways their partner might improve their
clues. Give students some new cube cards and the game continues.
You may find it useful to begin investigations in a hands-on, practical way, such as using real
cubes rather than cards and using counters for money. When appropriate, encourage students to
move away from using materials to find answers and instead work on a theoretical basis.
Activity 1.3: Bucket measures (pages 17–20)

Aim: To work with lists of numbers representing the volume of water in two
buckets and combine them to give smaller whole-number values.

• The lesson involves filling different-sized buckets with water, which will be
used to make smaller volumes of water. For the purposes of this lesson,
students must find answers based on whole buckets of water, not parts
of a bucket such as a half or quarter. The buckets are filled from a large
tank, which holds a lot of water. Water can be poured from one bucket to
another bucket or poured back into the tank, many times if needed.
• Students need to find clear and effective ways of showing their answers. Discuss and show
possible models, tables and diagrams they might use, while emphasising that students may
come up with a better idea.
Activity 1.4: Balancing weights (pages 21–24)

Aims: To solve equal balance equations using symbols representing weights;
and to informally introduce concepts of algebra, equations and equality.
Begin by asking: “How do you know when a seesaw is balanced?” (The

seesaw is horizontal or flat.)

• The balance is achieved when the weight of both sides is equal.
• People with equal weights balance on a seesaw when they
are the same distance from the balance point.
• Sitting further back from the balance point changes the
situation. A person with a greater weight can balance a
person with a lighter weight by moving closer to the balance Balance point
point (as students will look at in 1.4D: Extension 2).
You could reinforce these ideas through a hands-on experience, using a balance made with a
ruler and cotton reel and applying different weights. Students can show their answers by cutting
out shapes and arranging them to show how each balance can be achieved.
Also ask students about their experiences of balance on a seesaw.

SECTION 1: THREE LEVELS OF INSTRUCTION – TEACHER NOTES
Activity 1.5: Consecutive numbers (pages 25–28)

Aim: To work with consecutive numbers in arithmetic and puzzles.

• Define the nature of consecutive numbers so that all students understand
what type of numbers they can use for this activity. Here
we use the word consecutive in referring to numbers that continue in
a pattern.
• Generally we think of consecutive numbers as a sequence of numbers
that increase by ones. The counting numbers have many examples of
consecutive numbers, such as 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 or 3, 4, 5 or 121, 122, 123, 124.
• However, numbers can be consecutive by following other patterns. For example, the
sequences 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 22, 24, 26, 28 are consecutive even numbers and 5, 7, 9, 11
are consecutive odd numbers because they continue the number pattern in order. Some
consecutive multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15. When we are referring to consecutive numbers
other than those that increase by ones, we need to define the group we are meaning, such as
consecutive even numbers or consecutive odd numbers.
• Consecutive numbers can contain negative numbers such as {3, 2, 1, 0, –1, –2, …}.
For the extension questions, some consecutive numbers contain fractions such as { 12 , 1, 1 12 ,
2, 2 12 , …} or decimals such as {2, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, …}.
Activity 1.6: Missing digits (pages 29–32)

Aims: To examine numbers by considering the digits within them; and to find
unknown digits within numbers using arithmetic.

• Numbers are made up of digits. For example, the number 2 022 has four
digits: three 2s and one 0. Each digit in the number has a different place
value based on its position. However, in this activity students work with
the digits or parts that make up the numbers rather than considering their
place value.
• Missing digits are shown as empty shapes or as letters. Example: Where
a = 2 and b = 3, the number 9ab stands for 923 and the number aab stands for 223.
• If this was an algebraic activity, then ab would mean a × b; in that context, if a = 2 and
b = 3, then ab = a × b = 2 × 3 = 6. This activity, however, focuses on the digits within a
number and for this reason presents strings of letters with more space between them than is
typical of an algebraic expression. To support students in making this distinction, it would also
be useful to clarify the different ways of interpreting an expression such as ab.

7
Activity 1.1: Spending money
1.1A Lesson
We are learning to work with decimal numbers in a practical way using money.
1. Warm up with these practice questions.
(a) 5 × $11.60 = _______
(b) 7 × $9.90 = _______
(c) 6 × $5.30 = _______
(d) 9 × $7.80 = _______
(e) $152.40 ÷ 6 = _______
(f) $184.80 ÷ 11 = _______
(g) $79.80 ÷ 7 = _______
(h) $876.00 ÷ 5 = _______
2. A stationery shop is selling exercise books at $2.80 each.
(a) Find the cost of 11 exercise books.
(b) Dev buys a number of exercise books for $22.40. How many exercise books does he buy?
(c) The shop offers a free pencil case to any customer who spends more than $55. How
many exercise books does Dev need to buy to get a free pencil case?
3. Toy basketballs and skateboards are on sale at the local sports shop.
(a) If 1 basketball and 2 skateboards cost $42 in total, find the total cost of two basketballs
and four skateboards.
(b) William buys a basketball and a skateboard for a total of $27. Wilfred buys 2 basketballs
and a skateboard. How much does Wilfred pay?

ACTIVITY 1.1: SPENDING MONEY
1.1B Application
1. Complete the costs table to show the cost for different numbers of each type of pen.
Number Ballpoint pens Felt-tipped pens Gel pens

of pens $1.60 each $1.80 each $2.40 each
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 3
(d) 4
2. Use the table to find the total cost of each of the following orders.
(a) 2 ballpoint pens and 3 felt-tipped pens
(b) 2 felt-tipped pens and 4 gel pens
(c) 5 felt-tipped pens and 2 ballpoint pens
(d) 3 gel pens and 4 felt-tipped pens
3. The corner store sells pens but you can only buy them with a whole number of dollars. It has
only four pens of each type listed in the table left in stock.
(a) Jill has twelve $1 coins. She wants to buy as many pens of two types as possible. Which
pens should she buy?
(b) Sam has ten $1 coins. He wants to buy at least one pen of each type. How many pens of
each type can he buy?

9
1.1C Extension 1
1. In the local café, a cup of tea costs $3.40 and a bun costs $2.60.
(a) Six friends at one table each have a cup of tea and together they order some buns. If the
bill comes to $43.80, how many buns did the friends order?
(b) Three friends at another table each have a cup of tea and some buns – each friend eats
the same number. If the bill comes to $25.80, how many buns has each friend eaten?
(c) In another group at the café, each friend has one cup of tea and 2 buns. If the bill totals
$103.20, how many friends are in the group?
2. Calculate these costs for customers ordering coffee and cookies at the café.
(a) Maraea buys a coffee and a cookie for $9. How much will 2 cups of coffee and
2 cookies cost?
(b) Lucinda buys a cup of coffee and 2 cookies for $12.80. How much will her friend Mia pay
when she buys 2 cups of coffee and a cookie?
(c) Chen buys 2 cups of coffee and 5 cookies. How much does he have to pay?

1.1D Extension 2
Asha and Millie visit their favourite café. After spending an hour chatting, Asha has had 2 cups of
coffee and 1 croissant and Millie has had 1 cup of coffee and 3 croissants.
The bill comes to a total of a whole number of dollars. It is less than $30 but more than $25.
Someone has spilt melted chocolate on the menu so it is hard for the friends to read the prices
for the coffee and the croissants.
They can see that each cup of coffee costs four dollars something and each croissant costs
three dollars something.
How much could a cup of coffee cost and how much could a croissant cost to get the whole-
dollar total on the bill?
Menu
Tea $3.40
Coffee $4.
Croissant $3.
Photo: Released into the public domain under CC0 1.0

11
Activity 1.2: Sharing and describing items
Introductory class task: Cube cards

Card 1 Card 5
Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4
Card 2 Card 6
Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4
Card 3 Card 7
Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4
Card 4 Card 8
Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4

ACTIVITY 1.2: SHARING AND DESCRIBING ITEMS
1.2A Lesson
We are learning to divide numbers of cubes or amounts of money into different parts; and
are beginning to understand the concepts of ratio and proportion.
Introductory class task

As an introduction to this activity, you will
work with your teacher on describing
these piles.
(Teacher note: See page 5 for key points on

this activity and page 12 for resources.) Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4
1. Jean and Peter share 21 cubes so that Jean gets twice as many as Peter. How many does
each person get?
2. Rewa is looking at three piles of cubes. There are 12 cubes in total. The number of cubes in
the first pile is one more than the number in the second pile and the second pile has one more
cube than the third pile. Draw the correct number of cubes in each pile.
3. Bianca has 15 cubes, which she stacks into four piles. Three piles have the same number of
cubes. Each pile contains either 3 or 4 cubes. Find the number of cubes in the piles.

13
1.2B Application
1. Ali, Bree and Carla share a prize of $35 that they won at the local school fete. Ali gets $5 more
than Bree, Carla gets $20 and Bree gets $5. How much money does Ali get?
2. Allan, Biri and Cleo need to share $35. Allan gets twice as much as Cleo but half as much as
Biri. Find how much money each person gets.
3. Zoe has 15 cubes, which she stacks in four piles.
(a) Find the number of cubes in the piles if three piles have the same number of cubes and
each of these three piles contains 3, 4 or 5 cubes.
(b) Find the number of cubes in each pile if the number of cubes in the fourth pile is twice
that of the second pile; the number of cubes in the second pile is 2 more than in the first
pile; the third pile has 4 more cubes than the first pile; and the third pile contains 5 cubes.
4. Hiroshi has 25 cubes. He puts some of them into four piles so that the number of cubes in the
first pile is 3 times the number in the third pile and the number in the fourth pile is twice the
number in the third pile. There is 1 more cube in the second pile than in the third pile. List the
ways that he can do this.

1.2C Extension 1
1. Josh, Suyin and Lucinda share a prize of $48. If Josh gets $8 more than Suyin and Lucinda
gets $4 more than Suyin, find how much money each person will get.
2. Find the number of cubes in each pile.
(a) Tim has 30 cubes, which he places into four piles. The first pile has 6 more cubes than
the second pile. The third pile has 2 cubes fewer than the second pile. The fourth pile has
10 more cubes than the second pile.
(b) Jake has fewer than 40 cubes, which he places into four piles. The first pile has 5 fewer
cubes than the second pile. The second pile has 2 cubes fewer than the third pile. The
fourth pile has 5 more cubes than the second pile. (Look for four answers.)
(c) George has no more that 30 cubes, which he places into four piles. The first pile has
7 more cubes than the second pile. The fourth pile has 15 more than the third pile. (Look
for more than one answer.)

15
1.2D Extension 2
1. Four friends share a lottery win. Jane gets twice as much money as Jim. Ji gets $1 less than
Jim and Jack gets $2 more than Ji. If one of the friends gets $14, find the amount that each of
the other friends receives and find the total lottery prize.
2. Four friends share a cash prize at the school raffle. Chris gets half as much as Tomas and Colin
gets half as much as Chris. Matiu gets five times more than Colin. If one of them gets $20,
how much does each of the other friends get and what is the total prize?
3. Counters are placed into four piles so that the number in the first pile is twice the number of
counters in the third pile. The number in the fourth pile is three times the number of counters
in the third pile. There are 5 more counters in the second pile than the first pile. Find the
number of counters in each pile and the number of counters left over for each of the following
total number of counters available.
Total Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Counters Counters

available in piles left over
(a) 23
(b) 89
(c) 120
(d) 182

Activity 1.3: Bucket measures
1.3A Lesson
We are learning to work with lists of numbers representing the volume of water in two
1. Jill thinks that she can use this bucket to measure exactly 1 litre of water
but Jack doesn’t think she can. What do you think?
2 litres
2. How could Jill pour out exactly 1 litre of water from the 2-litre bucket?
3. Jill fills up the 2-litre bucket by filling up the 1-litre bucket twice and pouring it into the 2-litre
bucket. What is a good way to record this process?
2 litres
1 litre
Images: Released into the public domain under CC0 1.0

17
ACTIVITY 1.3: BUCKET MEASURES
1.3B Application
1. Una has a bucket that can hold 1 litre and another bucket that
can hold 3 litres. She can use lots of water to fill either or both
buckets. Explain how she could use both buckets to get each
of the following volumes exactly.
(a) 2 litres (b) 4 litres

1 litre
3 litres
2. Colin has a 2-litre bucket and a 5-litre bucket. When he is

using the buckets for measuring, he must pour all the water
out of a bucket – he cannot try to judge 1 litre by pouring
half the water out from the 2-litre bucket. Find how he
can use the buckets to measure out each of the following
volumes exactly. He has access to plenty of water for
this challenge.
5 litres
(a) 3 litres (b) 6 litres 2 litres
Images: Released into the public domain under CC0 1.0

1.3C Extension 1
1. Two containers hold 8 litres and 3 litres respectively. The containers have no markings on
them, and plenty of water is available to fill either container.
List the ways that you could make each of the following volumes of water, using the two
containers.
(a) 1 litre (c) 4 litres (e) 7 litres
(b) 2 litres (d) 5 litres
2. Angelo has a 10-litre bucket and a 3-litre bucket. Neither bucket has a scale on it. There is no
limit on the amount of water that he can use.
How is it possible for Angelo to use the buckets to measure out exactly each of the following
volumes of water?
(a) 1 litre (e) 5 litres (i) 9 litres
(b) 2 litres (f) 6 litres (j) 10 litres
(c) 3 litres (g) 7 litres
(d) 4 litres (h) 8 litres

19
1.3D Extension 2
1. Thimeth needs to use two buckets to measure out exactly 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 litres. He has no
buckets with scales marked on them and no 1-litre bucket. But he can choose from buckets
with any higher number of whole litres. Which two buckets should he choose to measure out
the amounts of water in the quickest way? Explain how he would use them.
2. Jo-Jo has a 10-litre bucket, a 5-litre bucket and a 2-litre bucket. None of the buckets has a
scale marked on them. There is no limit on the amount of water that she can use.
Find the most efficient way she can use the buckets to measure each of the following
volumes exactly.
(a) 1 litre (e) 5 litres (i) 9 litres
(b) 2 litres (f) 6 litres (j) 10 litres
(c) 3 litres (g) 7 litres
(d) 4 litres (h) 8 litres

Activity 1.4: Balancing weights
1.4A Lesson
We are learning to solve equal balance equations using symbols representing weights.
1. What could you do to make this seesaw balance?
4 kg 1 kg 1 kg
1 kg 1 kg 1 kg
2. Circles, squares and hexagons have balanced these seesaws.
Make each of the next seesaws balance with the following shapes.
(a) Circles (b) Squares
3. One weighs as much as and one weighs as much as .
Balance these seesaws in as many ways as possible using your choice of hexagons, squares
and circles. You can have as many of each kind of shape as you need to use. Draw more
copies of either seesaw if you have more ways of balancing them.
(a) (b)

21
ACTIVITY 1.4: BALANCING WEIGHTS
1.4B Application
1. Look carefully at the diagram on the right.

2 kg
(a) Explain what is wrong with the diagram. 1 kg
(b) What could you do to make it balance?
2. If one weighs the same as , show the weights that you need to place on the right-
hand side to balance each of these seesaws in as many ways as possible. Draw more copies
of either seesaw on a separate sheet of paper if you have more ways of balancing them.
(a) (b)
3. This seesaw shows how the weights of triangles, hexagons

and circles are connected. Using this diagram, as well as
the information in question 2, complete this statement.
The weight of _____ hexagon(s) = _____ circle(s) = _____ triangle(s).
4. Using the information from questions 2 and 3, draw the weights that you need to add to the
right-hand side of the seesaw to balance it in as many ways as possible. Draw more copies of
either seesaw on a separate sheet of paper if you have more ways of balancing them.
(a) (b)

1.4C Extension 1
These two seesaws show how the weights of circles, triangles and squares are connected.
1. Balance each of the following using the stated shape on the right-hand side. Explain your
answers.
(a) Circles (b) Circles (c) Triangles
2. Balance the following in as many ways as possible.
(a) (b) (c)
3. What shapes could be used to make these weights balance?

23
1.4D Extension 2
1. The weight of = 2 kg. In each of these diagrams, you need to place the circle or circles
on the right-hand side at a certain distance from the fulcrum to make the sides balance. Find
that distance.
(a) (b)
2. The weight of = 6 kg and the weight of = 3 kg. Show the distance you would place
each shape from the fulcrum to make the scales balance.
(a) Place the . (b) Place the .
3. Based on the same weights for the shapes as in question 2, show the distance you would
place each shape from the fulcrum to make the scales balance.
(a) Place the . (b) Place the .
4. Ray has one and one , which he puts on the right-hand side to make the scales
balance. Show where he could place each weight.

Activity 1.5: Consecutive numbers
1.5A Lesson
We are learning to work with consecutive numbers in arithmetic and puzzles.
1. Use whole numbers to write these consecutive numbers.
(a) Five consecutive numbers
(b) Three consecutive even numbers
(c) Four consecutive odd numbers
2. The first four consecutive numbers are {1, 2, 3, 4}. Answer these questions.
(a) List the first six consecutive numbers.
(b) Use your list to find the sum of the first six consecutive numbers.
3. The sum of four consecutive whole numbers is 26. What are the numbers?
4. Answer these questions above multiples of 5.
(a) Write the first four consecutive multiples of 5.
(b) Three consecutive multiples of 5 have a sum of 60. What are the numbers?
5. When two consecutive odd numbers are multiplied together, the answer is 143. What are
the numbers?
6. Is the sum of two consecutive whole numbers always odd? How do you know?

25
ACTIVITY 1.5: CONSECUTIVE NUMBERS
1.5B Application
1. Answer these questions on consecutive whole numbers that have a sum of 120.
(a) Find three consecutive numbers that add up to 120.
(b) Find three consecutive even numbers with a sum of 120.
(c) Show how you can use the answer from (a) to find the answer to (b).
(d) Show that it is not possible to find five consecutive odd numbers with a sum of 120.
2. Answer these questions on consecutive whole numbers that have a sum of hundreds
or thousands.
(a) Find five consecutive numbers that add up to 100.
(b) Find five consecutive numbers that add up to 200.
(c) Find five consecutive numbers that add up to 300.
(d) Describe the pattern that you notice for your answers.
(e) Use this pattern to write the five consecutive numbers that add up to 5 000.
3. Find some consecutive whole numbers with a sum of 123.

1.5C Extension 1
1. Think about what you know about consecutive numbers to answer these questions.
(a) When we multiply two consecutive numbers together, why is the answer always even?
(b) When we add three consecutive numbers together, why is the answer always divisible
by 3?
(c) Prove that the sum of two consecutive numbers is always an odd number.
2. Find the sum of each of these groups of whole numbers. See if you can find a shortcut by
pairing up numbers.
(a) The first 10 consecutive numbers
(b) The first 100 consecutive numbers
(c) The first 1 000 consecutive numbers
3. Using the pattern you found for your answers to question 2, write the sum of each of these
groups of whole numbers.
(a) The first 10 000 consecutive numbers _______________________________________________
(b) The first 100 000 consecutive numbers ______________________________________________
(c) The first 1 000 000 consecutive numbers ____________________________________________
4. Three consecutive numbers have a sum of 0. What are the numbers?
5. Find each of the following groups of numbers. (Hint: they might not be whole numbers.)
(a) 6 consecutive numbers that add up to 100
(b) 7 consecutive numbers that add up to 100

27
1.5D Extension 2
1. In this grid, no consecutive numbers from the group {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) are joined horizontally or
vertically. See, for example, how the 4 is connected to 6, 1 and 2, but not to 3 or 5.
6 4 2
3 1 5
Find other ways of putting these numbers in a 2 by 3 grid without joining any consecutive
numbers. For example, the number 3 should not have 2 or 4 beside it or directly above or below
it. Start with the grids below and draw more on a separate sheet of paper if you need to.
2. In each of these grids, no consecutive numbers from the group {1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 7, 8} are
joined horizontally or vertically. Find other ways of putting these numbers in a 2 by 4 grid
without joining any consecutive numbers. Start with the grids below and draw more on a
separate sheet of paper if you need to, keeping the numbers 1 and 2 in the same position.
1 6 4 8 1 8 4 6
5 2 7 3 5 2 7 3
1 1 1
2 2 2
1 1 1
2 2 2
1 1 1
2 2 2

Activity 1.6: Missing digits
1.6A Lesson
We are learning to examine numbers by considering the digits within them; and to find
1. If a = 7 and b = 1, write each of these numbers. (Hint: ba would be 17.)
(a) a b ___________ (c) 1 2 a a ___________ (e) 8 a 0 b 5 a ___________
(b) 3 b a ___________ (d) 5 a 2 b ___________
2. Write each of these numbers using a = 1, 2 or 3, b = 4, 5 or 6 and c = 9. (Hint: For abba

where a = 1 and b = 6, the number is 1 661; where a = 3 and b = 4, it is 3 443.)
(a) a b b a __________________________________________________________________________
(b) a a b ___________________________________________________________________________
(c) a b c a __________________________________________________________________________
3. Find the missing digits in each of these equations.

(a) 2 1 3 (c) 8 2 6 4
+ 3 0 9 – 5 3 8 7
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
(b) 4 2 3 a = _____ (d) 5 2 3 a = _____

+ 1 3 7 b = _____ × 5 b = _____
a b c c = _____ a b c d c = _____
d = _____
4. Work backwards to find the missing digits.

(a) (c) 6 2 3
1 a b a = _____
+ 3 0 9 b = _____ 9 ____
c 2 1 c = _____ + 2 ____ 4
____ 2 4
(b) ____ 3 7
× 7 (d)
b 0 b 9 a = _____
____ 5 9 – d c 8 7 b = _____
a 6 6 a c = _____
d = _____
5. Find the missing digits. (More than one answer is possible.)
(a) (b)
5 a 5 a = _____ a 8 a = _____
× 5 b = _____ + 3 b b = _____
2 b 2 5 c 1 c = _____

29
ACTIVITY 1.6: MISSING DIGITS
1.6B Application
1. We can put any digit into the square . So, for example, 4 could stand for 40, 41, 42, 43,
44, 45, 46, 47, 48 or 49. How many numbers could these squares stand for?
(a) 2 ____________________________________________________________________________
(b) 1 __________________________________________________________________________
(c) 2 _________________________________________________________________________
2. If a square can be any digit as in question 1, how many of each of these types of numbers can
you make?
(a) Numbers divisible by 5
1 __________________________________________________________________________
(b) Even numbers
1 __________________________________________________________________________
(c) Numbers divisible by 3
1 __________________________________________________________________________
3. Find the missing digits. Repeated letters stand for the same digit.
(a) (b)
9 a 2 a = _____ 2 a 3 a = _____
a 0 9 b = _____ × 7 b = _____
+ a 2 3 c = _____ a b 9 1
c b b a
4. Each of these equations has more than one answer but it must be an even number. Find the
missing digits for each one. (Note: a, b and c each stand for a different digit.)
(a) 2 (b) 3
a a
+ 7 5 – 1 9
b c b c

1.6C Extension 1
1. In how many ways is it possible to complete each of these equations?
(a) 3 +2 = 58 ________________________________________________________________
(b) 3 +2 = 62 ________________________________________________________________
(c) 3 –2 = 7 __________________________________________________________________
(d) 3 –2 = 12 _________________________________________________________________
(e) 7 –5 = 18 _________________________________________________________________
2. Find the digits you need to put in each square to reach the same answer in exactly the
following number of ways for the equation 7 –5 = .
(a) One way of getting the answer
(b) Two ways of getting the same answer
(c) Four ways of getting the same answer
3. Three 2-digit numbers are added together to give a 2-digit number ending with a 9, where
a ≠ b ≠ c ≠ d.
2 a
3 b
+ c 1
d 9
(a) Why can c not have the value of 0?
(b) Write down some numbers for a, b, c and d that make the addition true.
(c) In how many ways can the addition work?

31
1.6D Extension 2
1. Don wakes up and looks at the time on his digital clock.

When he rolls over in bed and looks at the digital clock
in the mirror, the digits look exactly the same. After
going back to sleep for some time, he wakes up again
to see that again the digits on the digital clock look
exactly the same when he looks at them directly and
when he sees them in the mirror.
How long has passed between the first time he woke

up and the second time?
Image: Released into the public domain under CC0 1.0
2. Four friends have set themselves the challenge of watching the digits on a digital clock. Each
minute, some of the digits change. Every time the digits change, the friends write down the
digits that they see. Lucinda starts at 5:07 am and is replaced by Nori exactly 24 minutes later.
Sam takes over from Nori exactly 21 minutes later. Finally, Chris takes over from Sam exactly
36 minutes later and finishes at 7:00 am.
(a) Show that Lucinda will have seen two 5s, two 0s, one 7 and one 8 after one minute.
(b) List the number of each digit that each friend will see during their shift.

SECTION 2: OPEN-ENDED PROBLEM SOLVING
Teacher notes
The following notes cover the aims and background of each of the six activities in this section.
Hints are also included, which you may choose to share with your students.
Activity 2.1: A broken calculator (page 36)

Aim: To work arithmetic calculations in which certain digits cannot be used.
Each of the problems involves having to use a calculator that has an

increasing number of digit buttons removed – first only 5, then 1 as well
and finally 3 as the third unusable digit button on the calculator. To solve
the problems, students need to come up with clever ways of recomposing
numbers into parts to input the necessary information without needing to
use the missing digit. They can use brackets to combine numbers into useful
expressions. A good grasp of the order of operations is essential when working with brackets –
that is, brackets first, then multiplication or division and finally addition or subtraction.
The process involves breaking simple calculations into larger, more complicated ones, working
with the order of operations in reverse. Students should keep the operations as short and as
compact as possible rather than breaking the calculation into lots of small, simple steps. This is a
challenge of numerical creativity.
Hints
• Try to think of different ways of making the calculations without using the broken buttons.
• Write down the numbers and the operations as you build up each calculation.
• Split the numbers into parts that don’t need the numbers from the broken buttons, such as
(when 5 is the only broken button) 5 is 1 + 4 so 2 × 5 = 2(4 + 1) or 2 × 4 + 2 × 1.
Activity 2.2: The graduation party (page 37)

Aim: To work with fractions and percentages.
The group of friends arriving late at the party is part of the total number: 60%
of the party-goers are dancing and 25% are talking so this group makes up
15% of the party-goers. The task then becomes working out the number of
people who are at the party. As 85% is 17 20 , the number of people at the party
must be a multiple of 20 as 17 is a prime number. As the hall can only hold

90 people, 20, 40, 60 or 80 people must be at the party. Party-goers receive
chocolate bars and balloons and some leave the treats behind. Only a whole
number of these treats could have been left behind, which restricts the
number at the party to either 40 or 80.
Hints
We don’t know the number of students in the group that arrives late. When this group joins the
party, a quarter of the party-goers are talking and 60% are dancing but the students walking in
the door are not yet doing either of these things.
Use the fractions to find the proportion of the people already at the party and so work out the
number of students who arrive late. No more than 90 students can be at the party and they can
only leave behind a whole number of chocolate bars or balloons.

33
SECTION 2: OPEN-ENDED PROBLEM SOLVING – TEACHER NOTES
Activity 2.3: Cake-making (page 38)

Aim: To work with fractions and make lists.
Multiples of 23 , 12 , 34 and 13 can be combined to make 3, 4 and 5 whole cups.

The fraction 23 can be turned into two lots of 13 and the fractions 12 , or 24 , and 3
4
can be combined with 23 .
Activity 2.4: Pascal’s triangle (page 39)

Aim: To continue the pattern in Pascal’s triangle and then find number
patterns within it.
Pascal’s triangle is a list of numbers arranged in a triangular pattern. The

number at the start and end of each row is 1 and each number inside the
pattern is the sum of the two closest numbers in the row directly above it.
The collection of values contains a lot of number patterns; the challenge is to
find as many of them as possible.
Hint
Add the numbers in pairs to give the number in the next row below. Try to
find as many number patterns in the triangle as possible such as the natural
numbers {1, 2, 3, 4, …}, the triangular numbers {1, 3, 6, 10, …} and the
Fibonacci numbers {1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, …}.
Activity 2.5: House numbers (page 40)

Aim: To work with the digits in numbers.
In the first question, students count the different types of digits for the first
50 house numbers. The second question introduces the idea of blocks of
units. Because students need to understand the way blocks are numbered,
it would be helpful to set the context with a class discussion on this topic
before starting the activity.
Hints
• Will you call the digit 0 odd, even, neither or both – or just keep it separate? If you need to, list
the house numbers and count them or else find a pattern.
• Unit numbers are given, for example, as 4/17 for unit 4, number 17 Ivanhoe Avenue. Decide
where you want to position the block of units on each side of the street and find the number
of digits for the house numbers and unit numbers that you have chosen to use. A street plan
such as the one below might make your work clearer.
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Ivanhoe Avenue
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

SECTION 2: OPEN-ENDED PROBLEM SOLVING – TEACHER NOTES
Activity 2.6: Living in a high rise (page 41)

Aim: To combine a number of clues to work out the number of floors and the
extent of travel in a high-rise building.
A high-rise building has many floors, both above and below ground. This
activity gives a series of clues to help students construct a profile of the
building in terms of the number of floors it has above and below ground.
The clues indicate that the height of the apartment block is 26 floors
above ground level and 3 floors below ground level. The lowest floor Don’s
apartment can be on is on the 3rd floor but it can’t be above the 5th floor
as he travels up 20 floors to his office, which could be as high as the 25th floor – 1 floor below
the rooftop gymnasium. The restaurant is halfway between his apartment and his office. The
solutions section sets out the possible floors for his apartment, office and restaurant. Once
students have listed the floors, they can find the number of floors that Don has passed.
Hint
If Don’s apartment is at least the same number of floors above ground level as his car is parked
below ground level, then it must be on the 3rd floor or above and he travels 20 floors to his
office, which is not the rooftop gymnasium.

35
Activity 2.1: A broken calculator
We are learning to work arithmetic calculations in which we cannot use certain digits.
1. The 5 button on my calculator is broken. Show how you could use

my calculator to find the answer to each of these questions.
(a) 35 + 1 505
Photo: Released into the public

domain under CC0 1.0
(b) 5 555 – 155
(c) 10 175 ÷ 55
(d) 17 × 35
2. My friend knocked my calculator off the desk and now the 1 button is broken as well as the 5.
Show how you could use my calculator to work out the answer to each of these questions.
(a) 5 555 – 155
(b) 17 × 35
3. Things keep getting worse for my calculator. I dropped it in the playground and now the 3
button is out of action as well as the 5 and 1 . Show how you could use my calculator to
work out the answer to each of these questions.
(a) 5 555 – 155
(b) 17 × 35

Activity 2.2: The graduation party
We are learning to work with fractions and percentages.
A group of friends is late getting to the school graduation party. When they arrive, they can see
that a quarter of the students are talking and 60% are dancing. The hall can hold a maximum of
90 students.
At the end of the party, each student is given a treat. Half

get a balloon and half get a chocolate bar, but 20% of the
students leave their balloon behind and a quarter leave their
chocolate bar behind.
Use the information above to find:
1. the number of students who are already at the party and

the number who arrive late
Photo: Released into the public domain under
CC0 1.0
2. the number of chocolate bars and the number of balloons that the students leave behind.

37
Activity 2.3: Cake-making
We are learning to work with fractions and make lists.
To make a variety of cakes, William needs to measure out different amounts of flour and sugar.
He has a set of small plastic measures that he can use to scoop out sugar and flour.
2 1 3 1
3
cup 2
cup 4
cup 3
cup
Show how he can use the plastic measures to get each of the
following amounts exactly. Many answers are possible for each
amount so it may help to draw up a table below to show all of the
possible combinations in each case.
1. 3 cups of flour
Photo: Released into the public domain

under CC0 1.0
2. 4 cups of sugar
3. 5 cups of flour

Activity 2.4: Pascal’s triangle
We are learning to continue the pattern in Pascal’s triangle and then find number patterns
within it.
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) was a French mathematician who discovered many patterns in the
triangle called after him.
1. Fill in the missing numbers in the triangle.
1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 ____ 1
1 ____ ____ ____ 1
1 ____ ____ 10 ____ 1
1 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 1
2. On your completed Pascal’s triangle, find as many number patterns as you can. Circle and
label each pattern on the triangle and describe each one in detail below.

39
Activity 2.5: House numbers
We are learning to work with the digits in numbers.
For Janie’s business, she numbers houses by putting stickers on people’s front gates. Each digit
is printed on a sticker and she combines them to give the correct house number. For example,
for house number 43, she uses two digit stickers: one 4 and one 3.
4 3
1. Her first job is to number houses from 1 to 50.
(a) How many digit stickers will she need for the job?
(b) How many stickers with even numbers and how many with odd numbers will she need?
2. Janie is planning to number the houses in a new development in Ivanhoe Avenue. As the
development is still being designed, she does not have all the details. But she does find out
that the street will include two single-storey blocks, one on each side of the street. Each block
will have six units and will take up two housing lots. The plan that she has to work with for
Ivanhoe Avenue shows 10 house lots on the odd-numbered side and 10 house lots on the
even-numbered side of the street.
Each block of units needs the street number on the main street gate. The gate for each unit
needs to show the street number and the unit number; for example, the second unit at
15 Ivanhoe Avenue would have 2/15 on its gate.
How many of each digit should Janie order to complete the job?

Activity 2.6: Living in a high rise
We are learning to combine a number of clues to work out the number of floors and the
extent of travel in a high-rise building.
Don lives and works in a high-rise

building. After waking up in his fabulous
apartment, he has breakfast and travels
in the lift 20 floors up to his office.
During his lunch break, he takes a swim
and exercises in the rooftop gymnasium
on the 26th floor. He then travels in the
lift to the underground carpark, which is
3 floors below ground level.
His apartment is at least the same

number of floors above ground level as
his car is parked below ground level.
After returning to his office and working Photo: Released into the public domain under CC0 1.0
through the afternoon, he meets his
parents at reception at ground level.
He takes them in the lift to the restaurant where they have dinner – the restaurant is halfway
between Don’s apartment and his office. After dinner, he takes his parents back down to
reception, wishes them good night and returns to his apartment.
How many floors could Don have travelled past during the day? You may find it helpful to draw up
one or more tables to help you reach an answer.

41
SECTION 3: GENERAL WORD PROBLEMS
Teacher notes
The following notes present hints you can use for yourself as a quick and easy way to become
acquainted with the activity without having to work through the whole sheet. You can also either copy
the hints or deliver them verbally to get students back on track with the activity if needed.
Activity 3.1: Mt Everest (pages 43–44)

1. Sir George Everest was surveyor general from 1830 to 1843.
2. XV is a roman numeral.
3. Convert 450 millimetres into centimetres.
4. Divide the number of feet by the number of metres for the same distance.
5. You will work with negative numbers as the average temperature for January is –36°C .
6. The activity information gives the height above sea level for each camp. The height of
Mt Everest is 8 850 m above sea level.
7. The height of the vertical section is 90 m above Camp IV.
Activity 3.2: Large animals (pages 45–46)

1. The radius of a circle is half its diameter.
2. Convert metres to centimetres.
3. Time is distance divided by speed.
4. There are 100 cm in a metre. You cannot include the spider because its height is not given but
it is certainly short in comparison with the other animals.
5. Work out the height and weight of the largest female polar bear using the information for the
largest male polar bear.
6. Measure your height to the nearest centimetre. Yao Defen is 2.36 metres tall.
7. This is a tough question. Work out the time for both animals to run 100 metres. You might
need to change the units. This will give you the winner of the race. The loser will only be able
to run for as long as the winner did to finish the race. To get the winning margin, work out how
far it ran in this time and subtract this distance from 100 metres.
Activity 3.3: The human skeleton (page 47)

18
1. The skeleton is 18% or 100 of the body’s weight. Multiply Kawal’s weight by this fraction.
2. Divide the weight of the skeleton by 18%.
3. Two of the 12 ribs on each side are called floating ribs. Write this as a fraction and make it into
a percentage.
4. The length of the femur is about 27% of Mike’s height so find this percentage.
5. Assume that the bones in the baby’s hand and feet do not fuse. This assumption may not
completely accurate but it helps to simplify the question.
6. 300 bones in a baby’s body turn into 200 to 210 in an adult’s body.
7. Use the length of the femur you found in question 4. The stirrup, anvil and hammer are each
3 mm long.

Activity 3.1: Mt Everest
We are learning to follow a logical approach to working through a problem; and to express
the solution clearly.
Mt Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is located on the Tibet–Nepal border.
It was first named Peak B and later was known as Peak XV. In 1856 it was renamed in
honour of Sir George Everest, who worked as the surveyor general of India between
1830 and 1843.
Mt Everest is 8 850 metres tall, or 29 035 feet in the imperial scale. Its climate is
extremely cold. In January, the coldest month, the temperature at the summit averages
–36°C and can drop as low as –60°C. In July, the average summit temperature is –19°C.
Base Camp, which is a resting area for climbers, is located on the Khumbu glacier at
a height of 5 400 metres above sea level. At this camp, 450 mm of rain is recorded
each year.
Photo: © Daniel Oberhaus; licensed for reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0
To climb from the south side, you go first from the Khumbu glacier to Base Camp. From
here the next stops are Camp I at 5 900 metres, Camp II at 6 500 metres, Camp III at
7 300 metres and Camp IV at 7 900 metres. After that is a 90-metre vertical climb,
followed by a horizontal 12-metre scramble across a cliff face known as the Hillary Step,
and then on to the top.

43
ACTIVITY 3.1: MT EVEREST
Use the information on the previous page to help you answer these questions.
1. For how many years was Sir George Everest the surveyor general of India?
2. Why might Mount Everest previously have had the name Peak XV?
3. How much rain in centimetres falls at Base Camp each year?
4. Use the height of Mt Everest to find the number of feet in 1 metre to two decimal places.
5. Use the information about the temperature at the summit of Mt Everest to help you answer
these questions.
(a) Find the difference between the average January temperature and the lowest temperature
for that month.
(b) How much hotter is the average temperature for July than the average temperature
for January?
6. Climbing the south side, how far below the top of Mt Everest is each of these camps?
(a) Base Camp ______________________________________________________________________
(b) Camp I __________________________________________________________________________
(c) Camp II __________________________________________________________________________
(d) Camp III _________________________________________________________________________
(e) Camp IV _________________________________________________________________________
7. After climbing the 90-metre vertical section near the end of the climb, how much further do
you need to climb to reach the top?

Activity 3.2: Large animals
Polar bears are the largest carnivores

on Earth. Standing on its hind legs, the
largest male recorded was 3.7 m tall
and weighed 1 002 kg. The males can
be as much as three times the size
of the females, and they can run at
40 km/h for short distances. Polar
bears also have an amazing sense of
smell. For example, they are able to
sniff out a seal 32 kilometres away.
Photo: © Arturo de Frias Marques; licensed for reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0
Giraffes can grow to a height of 5.5 m and

can run at speeds of 56 km/h. They like
eating leaves from high branches. They grasp
the leaves with their 46-cm-long tongue,
which is coloured blue-black. They belong
to the same family as the camel, which
explains why their scientific name is Giraffa
camelopardalis.
One of the mysteries of the deep ocean

is the giant squid. The biggest one on
record was 16.8 metres long, found in 1887.
Living so deep in the ocean, the giant squid
has the largest eyes of any creature in the
animal kingdom: each eye has a diameter
of 0.46 metres.
The Goliath bird-eating spider grows to a diameter of

30 cm and lives in burrows in the soggy swamps of South
America. It drags its prey into its burrow to eat.
Among humans, the tallest man in recorded history is

Robert Wadlow (1918–1940), who stood at 2.72 metres. The
tallest woman is Yao Defen (1972–2012) at 2.36 metres tall.
Photo: © Didier Descouens; licensed for

reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0

45
ACTIVITY 3.2: LARGE ANIMALS
Use the information on the previous page to help you answer these questions.
1. What is the radius of the Goliath bird-eating spider?
2. Which has the greater diameter: a giant squid’s eye or a Goliath bird-eating spider? By how
much? Give your answer in centimetres.
3. How long would it take the polar bear running at 40 km/h to reach a seal it had smelt
32 kilometres away?
4. The previous page tells you the greatest known height of most of the animals it discusses.
List these animals in order of increasing height and give their height in centimetres.
5. How tall and heavy could the biggest female polar bear be?
6. How many centimetres taller than you is Yao Defen?
7. Who would win a 100-metre sprint – a giraffe or a polar bear? How much would that animal
win by? Give the time and distance.

Activity 3.3: The human skeleton
The human skeleton has 206 bones on average. Babies begin with over 300 bones. As a
baby grows, some of their bones fuse together so that, by the time they become an adult,
their skeleton may have between 200 and 210 bones. The weight of the skeleton accounts
for about 18% of the total body mass.
On each side of the body are 12 ribs. Two of these on each side are called floating ribs
because they are not attached to the sternum or breast bone.
The longest bone in the human body is the femur, which is sometimes called the thigh
bone. It is usually about 27% of the length of the skeleton. The three smallest bones are
found in the middle ear – the stirrup, anvil and hammer are each 3 mm in length.
Each hand has 27 bones, which are needed to move and pick up objects with accuracy.
Each foot has 26 bones, which give balance and allow people to push off in many
directions and move with speed when needed.
Use the information above to help you answer these questions.
1. If Kawal weighs 78 kg, how much does her skeleton weigh?
2. How heavy is Lachlan if his skeleton weighs 27 kg?
3. What percentage of ribs in the human body are floating ribs?
4. Mike is 180 cm tall. About how long is his femur likely to be?
5. What percentage of a baby’s bones are in their hands and feet?
6. How many bones are fused together as a person develops into an adult?
7. What percentage of Mike’s femur is the length of one of the small bones in the ear –
the stirrup, anvil or hammer?

47
Solutions
1.1A Lesson
1. (a) $58 (e) $25.40
(b) $69.30 (f) $16.80
(c) $31.80 (g) $11.40
(d) $70.20 (h) $175.20
2. (a) $30.80
(b) 8 exercise books
(c) 20 exercise books
3. (a) 2 × $42 = $84
(b) Each skateboard must cost $42 – $27 = $15. If a basketball and a skateboard cost $27 in
total, then each basketball must cost $27 – $15 = $12.
Wilfred’s order must cost 2 × $12 + $15 = $39.
1.1B Application
1. (a) $1.60, $1.80, $2.40 (c) $4.80, $5.40, $7.20
(b) $3.20, $3.60, $4.80 (d) $6.40, $7.20, $9.60
2. (a) $3.20 + $5.40 = $8.60 (c) $9.00 + $3.20 = $12.20
(b) $3.60 + $9.60 = $13.20 (d) $7.20 + $7.20 = $14.40
3. (a) 3 ballpoint and 4 felt-tipped or 4 felt-tipped and 2 gel or 3 ballpoint and 3 gel. All = $12
(b) 1 ballpoint, 2 felt-tipped and 2 gel = $10; 3 ballpoint, 1 felt-tipped and 1 gel = $9
1.1C Extension 1
1. (a) Let x stand for the unknown amount.
6 × $3.40 + x × $2.60 = $43.80, $20.40 + x × $2.60 = $43.80
x × $2.60 = $43.80 – $20.40 = $23.40 ∴ x = $23.40 ÷ $2.60 = 9
So the friends ordered 9 buns.
(b) Let x stand for the unknown amount.
3 × $3.40 + x × $2.60 = $25.80
x × $2.60 = $25.80 – $10.20 = $15.60 ∴ x = $15.60 ÷ $2.60 = 6
So the group eats 6 buns in total, meaning that each person has eaten 2 buns.
(c) Let x stand for the unknown number.
x × $3.40 + x × ($2.60 + $2.60) = $103.20
x × $8.60 = $103.20 ∴ x = $103.20 ÷ $8.60 = 12
So 12 friends are in the group.
2. (a) If 1 coffee and 1 cookie costs $9, then 2 coffees and 2 cookies will be twice
that, making them $18.
(b) If 1 coffee and 1 cookie cost $9 and 1 coffee and 2 cookies cost $12.80, then the extra
cookie must have cost $3.80, because $9 + $3.80 = $12.80, which means that the coffee
must have cost $5.20, so Mia will have to pay 2 × $5.20 + $3.80 = $14.20 for 2 cups of
coffee and 1 cookie.
(c) Two times 1 cup of coffee and 2 cookies will be 2 cups of coffee and 4 cookies = 2 ×
$12.80 = $25.60 + 1 more cookie $3.80 = $29.40.

SOLUTIONS
1.1D Extension 2
Asha has 2 cups of coffee and 1 croissant and Millie has 1 cup of coffee and 3 croissants, so
together they have 3 cups of coffee and 4 croissants.
The question becomes 3 × cost of coffee + 4 × cost of croissants is a whole number of dollars
between $25 and $30. Coffee can’t cost an amount plus 5 cents, such as $4.25, because three
times this amount will always leave a total of 5 cents: 3 × $0.25 = $0.75, which won’t lead to the
bill equalling a whole number of dollars.
The following are some possible answers.
Cost of a cup of coffee Cost of a croissant Total bill
$4.40 $3.20 $26
$4.20 $3.60 $27
$4.80 $3.40 $28
$4.60 $3.80 $29
1.2A Lesson
1. Jean gets 14 cubes and Peter gets 7 cubes.
2. Drawing should show pile 1 with 5 cubes, pile 2 with 4 cubes and pile 3 with 3 cubes.
3. Three piles have 4 cubes and one pile has 3 cubes because 3 × 4 + 3 = 15 cubes.
Note: The order of the piles is not important – the question does not ask for this information.
The answer can’t be three piles with 3 cubes and one pile with 4 cubes because 3 × 3 + 4 ≠ 15.
1.2B Application
1. Ali gets $10.
2. Allan $10, Biri $20, Cleo $5
3. (a) {3, 3, 3, 6} {4, 4, 4, 3}
(b) Pile 1 has 1 cube, pile 2 has 3 cubes, pile 3 has 5 cubes and pile 4 has 6 cubes.
4.
Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Cubes left over
3 2 1 2 17
6 3 2 4 15
9 4 3 6 3
1.2C Extension 1
1. Let J stand for Josh, S for Suyin and L for Lucinda: J = S + 8, L = S + 4. Both Josh’s and
Lucinda’s amounts of money are related to the amount that Suyin has.
Suyin: $12, Josh: $20, Lucinda: $16
2. Each box stands for a pile in the order 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
(a)
Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4
10 4 2 14

49
SOLUTIONS
(b) At least 1 cube must be in each pile so the number in pile 1 must be at least 1. Cubes are
placed into the piles to use less than 40.
Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Total cubes

1 6 8 11 26
2 7 9 12 30
3 8 10 13 34
4 9 11 14 38
(c) At least 1 cube must be in each pile so piles 2 and 3 must have a minimum of 1 cube
each. The information connects the number of cubes in the first two piles. Numbers are
placed in the table to give a maximum total of 30.
Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Total cubes

8 1 1 16 26
9 2 1 16 28
8 1 2 17 28
10 3 1 16 30
8 1 3 18 30
1.2D Extension 2
1. Jim Jack Ji Jane Total
$14 $15 $13 $28 $70
$13 $14 $12 $26 $65
$15 $16 $14 $30 $75
$7 $8 $6 $14 $35
2. Colin Chris Tomas Matiu Total

$5 $10 $20 $25 $60
$10 $20 $40 $50 $120
$20 $40 $80 $100 $240
$4 $8 $16 $20 $48
3. Total Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Counters in Counters

available piles left over
(a) 23 4 9 2 6 21 2
(b) 89 20 25 10 30 85 4
(c) 120 28 33 14 42 117 3
(d) 182 44 49 22 66 181 1

SOLUTIONS
1.3A Lesson
1. Jack is correct. Jill cannot use the 2-litre bucket to measure exactly 1 litre of water because
its sides are on an angle, so when the water is halfway up the side of the bucket this does not
mean that half of the 2 litres of water (1 litre) is in the bucket. Jill could only use the bucket to
measure 1 litre of water if it had a scale on it.
2. Several approaches are possible:
• She could fill the 2-litre bucket up to the top and pour water out into a 1-litre container. Then
the amount left in the bucket is exactly 1 litre.
• She could use the scale on the bucket if it had a scale.
• As 1 litre of water weighs 1 kilogram, she could use a set of weighing scales to weigh the
amount of water she pours out. When she has poured 1 kg of water out of the bucket, 1 kg
or 1 L must be left.
3. One way you could show this is by using a table.
Action 1-litre bucket 2-litre bucket
Fill 1-litre bucket. 1 litre 0 litres
Pour water from 1-litre bucket into 2-litre bucket. 0 litres 1 litre
Fill 1-litre bucket. 1 litre 1 litre
Pour water from 1-litre bucket into 2-litre bucket. 0 litres 2 litres
Alternatively, you could use a diagram with descriptions, such as this one.
Start with an empty 1-litre bucket and an empty
1-litre bucket 2-litre bucket
2-litre bucket.
Fill the 1-litre bucket.

Empty the 1-litre bucket into the 2-litre bucket.

Fill the 1-litre bucket.

Empty the 1-litre bucket into the 2-litre bucket. It now

holds 2 litres of water.
1.3B Application
1.
Fill 3-litre bucket. 0 litres 3 litres
Pour 1 litre from 3-litre bucket into 1-litre bucket. 1 litre (a) 2 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket. (b) 1 litre (b) 3 litres
Note: In 1(b), when Una has finished, both buckets together hold 4 litres in total.

51
SOLUTIONS
2.
Pour 2 litres of water from 5-litre bucket into 2-litre bucket. 2 litres (a) 3 litres
Empty the 2-litre bucket. 0 litres 3 litres
Pour 2 litres of water from 5-litre bucket into 2-litre bucket. 2 litres 1 litre
Empty 2-litre bucket. 0 litres 1 litre
Pour the 1 litre of water from 5-litre bucket into 2-litre bucket. 1 litre 0 litres
Fill 5-litre bucket. (b) 1 litre (b) 5 litres
Note: In 2(b): When Colin has finished, both buckets together hold 6 litres in total.
1.3C Extension 1
1.
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 8-litre bucket. 0 litres 3 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 8-litre bucket. 0 litres 6 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour 2 litres into 8-litre bucket. (a) 1 litre 8 litres
Empty 8-litre bucket and pour 1 litre from 3-litre bucket 0 litres 1 litre
into it.
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 8-litre bucket. 0 litres (c) 4 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 8-litre bucket. 0 litres (e) 7 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour out 1 litre to fill 8-litre bucket. (b) 2 litres 8 litres
Empty 8-litre bucket and pour 2 litres from 3-litre bucket 0 litres 2 litres
into it.
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 8-litre bucket. 0 litres (d) 5 litres
2.
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 10-litre bucket. 0 litres (c) 3 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 10-litre bucket. 0 litres (f) 6 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 10-litre bucket. 0 litres (i) 9 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour out 1 litre to fill 10-litre bucket. (b) 2 litres (j) 10 litres
Empty the 3-litre bucket and pour water from 10-litre 3 litres (g) 7 litres
bucket to fill it.
Empty the 3-litre bucket and pour water from 10-litre 3 litres (d) 4 litres
bucket to fill it.
Empty the 3-litre bucket and pour water from 10-litre 3 litres (a) 1 litre
bucket to fill it.
Fill 3-litre bucket 4 times and pour into 10-litre bucket, 2 litres 10 litres
filling 10-litre bucket and leaving 2 litres in 3-litre bucket.
Empty the 10-litre bucket and pour 2 litres into it from the 0 litres 2 litres
3-litre bucket
continued ...

SOLUTIONS

Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 10-litre bucket. 0 litres (e) 5 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket and pour into 10-litre bucket. 0 litres (h) 8 litres
1.3D Extension 2
1. The most efficient way is to use a 2-litre bucket and a 3-litre bucket, as follows.
Pour water from 3-litre bucket to fill 2-litre bucket. 2 litres 1 litre
Empty water from 3-litre bucket. 2 litres 0 litres
Pour water from 2-litre bucket to fill 3-litre bucket. 0 litres 2 litres
Fill 2-litre bucket. 2 litres + 2 litres = 4 litres
Fill 3-litre bucket. 2 litres + 3 litres = 5 litres
2. The following is one solution. It may not be the most efficient.
Action 2-litre bucket 5-litre bucket 10-litre bucket
Fill 2-litre bucket and pour into 5-litre 0 litres (b) 2 litres
bucket.
Fill 2-litre bucket and pour into 5-litre 0 litres (d) 4 litres
bucket.
Fill 2-litre bucket and pour water to fill (a) 1 litre (e) 5 litres
5-litre bucket.
Pour 5 litres from 5-litre bucket into 1 litre 0 litres 5 litres
10-litre bucket.
Pour 1 litre from 2-litre bucket into 0 litres 0 litres (f) 6 litres
10-litre bucket.
Fill 2-litre bucket and pour into 10-litre 0 litres 0 litres (h) 8 litres
bucket.
Pour water from 10-litre bucket to fill 0 litres 5 litres (c) 3 litres
5-litre bucket.
Empty 10-litre bucket and pour water 0 litres 0 litres 5 litres
from 5-litre bucket into it.
Fill 2-litre bucket and pour into 10-litre 0 litres 0 litres (g) 7 litres
bucket.
Fill 2-litre bucket and pour into 10-litre 0 litres 0 litres (i) 9 litres
bucket.
Fill 2-litre bucket and pour to fill 10-litre 1 litre 0 litres (j) 10 litres
bucket.

53
SOLUTIONS
1.4A Lesson
1. Place four 1-kg weights on the right-hand side of the seesaw or take the 4-kg weight off
the seesaw.
2. (a) On the right-hand side of the seesaw, add 2 circles for each square, 5 circles for each
hexagon and 4 circles to match those on the left, making 18 circles.
(b) On the right-hand side of the seesaw, add 1 square for every 2 circles, 5 squares for the 2
hexagons combined (which are the same as 10 circles) and 2 squares to match those on
the left, making 9 squares.
3. (a) {Hexagons, Squares, Circles}: {1, 1, 0} {1, 0, 2} {0, 1, 3} {0, 0, 5} {0, 2, 1}
(b) {Hexagons, Squares, Circles}: {1, 0, 3} {0, 0, 6} {1, 1, 1} {0, 2, 2} {0, 1, 4} {0, 3, 0] {2, 0, 0}
1.4B Application
1. (a) The weights on each side need to be the same for the arm to be horizontal: 1 kg is not the
same as 2 kg.
(b) You could add an extra kilogram to the right-hand side to 1 kg
2 kg
make it balance. Alternatively you could add any number of 1 kg
weights to either side as long as the weight on the left-hand
side is the same as the weight on the right-hand side.
2. (a) Three options: 2 hexagons; 6 circles; 1 hexagon, 3 circles.
(b) Four options: 3 hexagons, 2 circles; 2 hexagons, 5 circles; 1 hexagon, 8 circles; 11 circles.
3. The weight of 1 hexagon = 3 circles = 1 triangle.
4. The following options apply for balancing each seesaw.
(a) Hexagon Circle Triangle
1 0 0
0 3 0
0 0 1
(b) Hexagon Circle Triangle

2 0 0
0 6 0
0 0 2
1 3 0
1 0 1
0 3 1
1.4C Extension 1
1. From the seesaws, we can see that:
• a square and a triangle together are the same weight as five circles (seesaw B)
• we can replace a square and a triangle on the right-hand side by 5 circles so that 3 circles
and 2 triangles balance 2 + 5 = 7 circles (seesaw A). So a triangle must be 12 (7 – 3) =
2 circles
• we can replace the triangle with 2 circles so 1 square = 3 circles (seesaw B).
Using this information, we can balance the seesaws in question 1 in this way:
(a) 2 circles

SOLUTIONS
(b) 3 circles
(c) 3 triangles. Based on our knowledge that a circle is half a triangle and our answer to (b),
we know that a square is 3 × 12 = 1 12 triangles. So 2 squares must be 2 × 1 12 = 3 triangles.
2. (a) On the right-hand side of the seesaw, add 3 circles; or 1 square; or 1 circle and 1 triangle.
(b) On the right-hand side of the seesaw, add any of these combinations.
Circle Triangle Square
7 0 0
4 0 1
1 0 2
5 1 0
3 2 0
1 3 0
0 2 1
2 1 1
(c) On the right-hand side of the seesaw, add any of these combinations.
8 0 0
6 1 0
4 2 0
2 3 0
0 4 0
5 0 1
2 0 2
3 1 1
1 2 1
0 1 2
2 3 0
3. The following combinations are possible.
13 0 0
11 1 0
9 2 0
7 3 0
5 4 0
3 5 0
1 6 0
10 0 1
continued ...

55
SOLUTIONS

7 0 2
4 0 3
1 0 4
8 1 1
5 1 2
6 2 1
2 1 3
4 3 1
0 2 3
1 3 2
2 4 1
0 5 1
1.4D Extension 2
1. This question is based on the theory of moments. The moment of a weight on a seesaw is the
distance from the fulcrum × weight. When the moments of the weights on each side of the
seesaw are equal, then it is balanced.
(a) Left-hand side: Weight × Distance to fulcrum = 6 kg × 10 cm = 60 kg cm
Right-hand side: Weight × Distance to fulcrum = 2 kg × Distance = 60 kg cm,
so Distance = 30 cm.
(b) Left-hand side: Weight × Distance to fulcrum = 8 kg × 12 cm = 96 kg cm
Right-hand side: Weight × Distance to fulcrum = 6 kg × Distance = 96 kg cm,
so Distance = 16 cm.
2. Left-hand side: Weight × Distance to fulcrum = 9 × 20 = 180 kg cm
(a) To make it balance, we can put the 180 ÷ 6 = 30 cm from the fulcrum.
(b) We can put the 180 ÷ 3 = 60 cm from the fulcrum.
3. Left-hand side: Weight × Distance to fulcrum = 6 × 40 + 6 × 20 = 360 kg cm
If we use the weights one at a time, we can balance in this way:
(a) Put the 360 ÷ 6 = 60 cm from the fulcrum.
(b) Put the 360 ÷ 3 = 120 cm from the fulcrum.
4. If x stands for the distance from the triangle to the fulcrum and y stands for the distance from
the circle to the fulcrum, then 6x + 3y = 210, so 2x + y = 70.
Many solutions are possible based on the rule y = 70 – 2x. The example solution shown here
is x = 30, y = 10.
Some other possibilities, where x and y are whole numbers, include: x = 25, y = 20;
x = 22, y = 26; x = 19, y = 32; x = 11, y = 48

SOLUTIONS
1.5A Lesson
1. A wide range of answers is possible. The following are some sample answers:
(a) {2, 3, 4, 5, 6} or {150, 151, 152, 153, 154} ...
(b) {6, 8, 10} or {582, 584, 586} ...
(c) {3, 5, 7, 9} or {145, 147, 149, 151} ...
2. (a) {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
(b) The obvious way to find the answer is 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 21. A quicker way to find the
sum is to pair the numbers: 1 + 6 = 2 + 5 = 3 + 4 = 7, making 3 lots of 7 = 3 × 7 = 21.
3. 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 = 26. Note how the two pairs of numbers, 5 + 8 and 6 + 7, both equal 13 and
twice 13 makes 26.
4. (a) Consecutive multiples of a number are the multiples in numerical order: the first four
multiples of 5 are 5, 10, 15 and 20.
(b) 15 + 20 + 25 = 60
5. Consecutive odd numbers are odd numbers in numerical order such as 5, 7, 9. For the product
to be 143, these consecutive odd numbers must be 11 × 13 = 143.
6. Yes, the sum of two consecutive numbers will always be odd. We can see this through
examples such as 4 + 5 = 9 and 6 + 7 = 13, and even tricky examples such as –1 + 0 = –1
and 0 + 1 = 1.
1.5B Application
1. (a) 120 ÷ 3 = 40, the middle term. The three terms are {39, 40, 41} where 39 + 40 + 41 = 120.
(b) The even numbers are {38, 40, 42} where 38 + 40 + 42 = 120.
(c) The answer for (a) was {39, 40, 41} with two odd numbers and one even number. We can
take 39 down 1 to 38 and take 41 up 1 to 42, giving three consecutive even numbers.
(d) Starting with 19: 19 + 21 + 23 + 25 + 27 = 115, starting with 21: 21 + 23 + 25 + 27 +
29 = 125, so the lower sum is 5 below 120 while the higher sum is 5 above 120, showing
that no sum starting with an odd number gives 120.
2. (a) 100 ÷ 5 = 20, so the middle number is 20, giving the values {18, 19, 20, 21, 22}.
(b) 200 ÷ 5 = 40, so the middle number is 40, giving the values {38, 39, 40, 41, 42}.
(c) 300 ÷ 5 = 60, so the middle number is 60, giving the values {58, 59, 60, 61, 62}.
(d) We find the middle term by dividing the sum by 5. We then write two numbers going up
by ones and two numbers going down by ones from the middle number.
(e) 5 000 ÷ 5 = 1 000, so the numbers are {998, 999, 1 000, 1 001, 1 002}.
3. Some answers are {61, 62}, {40, 41, 42}, {18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23}.
1.5C Extension 1
1. (a) To begin, let’s see if it is true: 2 × 3 = 6, 7 × 8 = 56, 11 × 12 = 132. These examples
show that the answer is always even. Even numbers have a factor of 2. In each example,
when we multiply an even number by an odd number, the factor of 2 remains: 6 × 7 =
2 × 3 × 7 = 2 × 21, so the answer must be even.
(b) Let’s see if it is true: for example, 3 + 4 + 5 = 12, which is divisible by 3. Letting the first
number be n, the other numbers are n + 1, n + 2. The sum must be n + (n + 1) + (n + 2)
= 3n + 3 = 3(n + 1). This is always divisible by 3.
(c) Let’s see if it is true: 4 + 5 = 9, 11 + 12 = 23 , 0 + 1 = 1. All the results are odd. Letting
the first number be n, the next must be (n + 1), so n + (n + 1) = 2n + 1. The number
shown as 2n must be even, so 2n + 1 is 1 more than an even number – and that means it
must always be an odd number.

57
SOLUTIONS
2. (a) Pairing the numbers {1 + 10, 2 + 9, 3 + 8, 4 + 7, 5 + 6} gives 5 lots of 11 = 5 × 11 = 55.

(b) Pairing the numbers {1 + 100, 2 + 99, 3 + 98, 4 + 97 ... 49 + 52, 50 + 51} gives 50 lots
of 101= 50 × 101 = 5 050.
(c) The numbers run {1, 2, 3, 4, ... 499, 500, 501, 502, ... 997, 998, 999, 1 000}. Pairing the
numbers such as 1 + 1 000, 2 + 999, 3 + 998, 4 + 997 ... 499 + 502, 500 + 501 gives
500 lots of 1 001 = 500 × 1 001 = 500 500.
3. Every time the largest number increases 10 times, we put a zero between the fives and a 0 at
the back of the number. Following this pattern gives these answers:
(a) 50 005 000
(b) 5 000 050 000
(c) 500 000 500 000
4. This is a tricky one: the numbers are {–1, 0, 1} where –1 + 0 + 1 = 0. The numbers are
consecutive as each one is 1 apart from the next number.
5. (a) {13 13 , 14 23 , 16, 17 13 , 18 23 , 20}
(b) {13 67 , 14, 14 17 , 14 27 , 14 37 , 14 47 , 14 57 }
1.5D Extension 2
1. You have 15 ways of putting the digits in the grid, in addition to the example you were given.
3 1 5 3 5 1 3 6 1 5 3 1
6 4 2 6 2 4 5 2 4 2 6 4
5 1 3 4 2 6 4 2 5 4 6 2
2 4 6 1 5 3 1 6 3 1 3 5
2 4 6 6 2 4 5 2 4 2 6 4
5 1 3 3 5 1 3 6 1 5 3 1
1 5 3 1 6 3 1 3 5
4 2 6 4 2 5 4 6 2
2. You have 29 ways of putting the digits in the grid, in addition to the examples you were given.
1 5 7 3 1 5 8 3 1 6 3 7
6 2 4 8 7 2 4 6 5 2 8 4
1 5 8 3 1 4 7 3 1 5 3 7
6 2 4 7 6 2 5 8 6 2 8 4
1 5 7 3 1 4 8 3 1 7 3 8
8 2 4 6 6 2 5 7 5 2 6 4
1 5 8 3 1 6 3 8 1 5 3 8
7 2 4 6 5 2 7 4 7 2 6 4
1 6 8 3 1 5 3 8 1 7 3 6
5 2 4 7 6 2 7 4 5 2 8 4

SOLUTIONS
1 5 3 6 1 6 3 8 1 7 4 8
7 2 8 4 4 2 7 5 5 2 6 3
1 8 3 7 1 6 3 7 1 7 4 6
5 2 6 4 4 2 8 5 5 2 8 3
1 8 3 6 1 7 3 6 1 8 4 7
5 2 7 4 4 2 5 8 5 2 6 3
1 5 3 7 1 7 3 5 1 4 8 5
8 2 6 4 4 2 6 8 7 2 6 3
1 5 3 6 1 6 4 7
8 2 7 4 5 2 8 3
1.6A Lesson
1. (a) 71
(b) 317
(c) 1 277
(d) 5 721
(e) 870 157
2. (a) 1 441, 1 551, 1 661, 2 442, 2 552, 2 662, 3 443, 3 553, 3 663
(b) 114, 115, 116, 224, 225, 226, 334, 335, 336
(c) 1 491, 2 492, 3 493, 1 591, 2 592, 3 593, 1 691, 2 692, 3 693
3. (a) 522
(b) a = 5, b = 6, c = 0
(c) 2 877
(d) a = 2, b = 6, c = 1, d = 5
4. (a) a = 1, b = 2, c = 4
(b) 137 × 7 = 959
(c) 623 + 97 + 204 = 924
(d) a = 2, b = 4, c = 3, d = 1
5. (a) {a = 0, b = 5} {a = 2, b = 6} {a = 4, b = 7} {a = 6, b = 8} {a = 8, b = 9}
(b) Possible answers are: 18 + 33 = 51 {a = 1, b = 3, c = 5}; 28 + 33 = 61 {a = 2, b = 3,
c = 6}; 48 + 33 = 81 {a = 4, b = 3, c = 8}; 58 + 33 = 91 {a = 5, b = 3, c = 9}
1.6B Application
1. (a) The missing digit can be {0, 1, 2, 3 ... 7, 8, 9}, making 10 numbers.
(b) For both squares together, the missing digits can be {00, 01, 02, …, 98, 99}, making
100 numbers.
(c) The first position can be any of nine digits and the third position can be any of 10 digits,
with the digit 2 in the middle. So 9 × 10 = 90 different numbers are possible.
2. (a) Two for each group of 10, so 2 × 10 = 20 numbers.
(b) Five for each group of ten, so 5 × 10 = 50 numbers.

59
SOLUTIONS
(c) The sum of the digits needs to be divisible by 3, or every third number is divisible by 3.
Listing them gives a lead: 102, 105, 108, 111, 114, 117, 120, 123, 126, 129, 132, 135, 138,
141, 144, 147, 150, 153, 156, 159, 162, 165, 168, 171, 174, 177, 180, 183, 186, 189, 192,
195, 198. Total number = 33. As 100 ÷ 3 = 33 13 , this range will contain 33 not 34 numbers.
3. (a) a = 4, b = 7, c = 1
(b) a = 1, b = 4
4. The following are possible answers for each equation.
(a) 21 + 75 = 96 {a = 1, b = 9, c = 6}; 23 + 75 = 98 {a = 3, b = 9, c = 8}
(b) 33 – 19 = 14 {a = 3, b = 1, c = 4}; 35 – 19 = 16 {a = 5, b = 1, c = 6}; 37 – 19 = 18
{a = 7, b = 1, c = 8}; 39 – 19 = 20 {a = 9, b = 2, c = 0}
1.6C Extension 1
1. (a) The missing digits need to add up to 8 so they could be {0, 8} {1, 7} {2, 6} {3, 5} {4, 4}
{5, 3} {6, 2} {7, 1} {8, 0}, making 9 ways in which the equation is true.
(b) The missing digits need to add up to 12 so they could be {6, 6} {7, 5} {8, 4} {9, 3} {5, 7}
{4, 8} {3, 9}, making 7 ways.
(c) {0, 3} {1, 4} {2, 5} {3, 6} {4, 7} {5, 8} {6, 9}, making 7 ways.
(d) {9, 7} {8, 6} {7, 5} {6, 4} {5, 3} {4, 2} {3, 1} {2, 0}, making 8 ways.
(e) {0, 2} {1, 3} {2, 4} {3, 5} {4, 6} {5, 7} {6, 8} {7, 9}, making 8 ways.
2. (a) 79 – 50 = 29, which gives the maximum difference, or 70 – 59 = 11, which gives the
minimum difference. Each of these can only be solved in one way.
(b) 79 – 51 = 28 and 78 – 50 = 28; or 71 – 59 = 12 and 70 – 58 = 12.
(c) 79 – 53 = 78 – 52 = 77 – 51 = 76 – 50 = 26; or 73 – 59 = 72 – 58 = 71 – 57 = 70 – 56 = 14
3. (a) The third number in the addition needs to be a two-digit number, but if it starts with a 0 it
will be a one-digit number: 01 = 1.
(b) Examples (among many) are 25 + 33 + 11 = 69, 27 + 41 + 21 = 89.
(c) For the ones column to add up to 8 without carrying a 10 over to the hundreds column,
there are 8 sets for a and b: {a = 0, b = 8} {a = 1, b = 7} etc, excluding {a = 4, b =
4} because a and b must have different values. As a, b, c and d must also each have a
different value, this limits the answers to the following:
For c = 1, d = 6, the values for {a, b} are {0, 8} {3, 5} {5, 3} {8, 0}.
For c = 2, d = 7, the values for {a, b} are {0, 8} {3, 5} {5, 3} {8, 0}.
For c = 3, d = 8,the values for {a, b} are {1, 7} {2, 6} {6, 2} {7, 1}.
For c = 4, d = 9, the values for {a, b} are {0, 8} {1, 7} {2, 6} {3, 5} {5, 3} {6, 2} {7, 1}
{8, 0}. Total number of ways: 20
1.6D Extension 2
1. The times could have been 10:01 and 11:11, making 1 hour 10 minutes between them. If the
digital clock was a 24-hour clock, the times must have been for the morning, but if the clock
was a 12-hour clock the times could have been either in the morning or in the evening.
2. (a) Lucinda starts at 5:07 and exactly one minute later the digital clock ticks over to 5:08 so
she has now seen two 5s, two 0s, one 7 and one 8. Over that one minute, she has seen
two different times on the clock. This question shows how time works in groups of 60.
(b) Note that 24 minutes after Lucinda starts at 5:07, the next person, Nori, will start with the
clock when the clock shows 5:31, so that both Lucinda and Nori will record the time 5:31
on their list.

SOLUTIONS
Digits 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Lucinda 6 13 12 4 2 27 2 3 3 3
Nori 2 3 3 11 12 27 2 2 2 2
Sam 13 13 13 4 4 20 33 4 4 3
Chris 5 3 5 13 13 13 35 4 4 4
2.1 A broken calculator

1. (a) One example solution (out of many possibilities): 34 + 1 + 1 400 + 104 + 1 = 1 540
(b) Split the numbers into parts that do not involve the number 5 such as: 4 444 + 1 111 –
149 – 6 = 5 400
(c) Put 10 175 onto the display as 10 174 + 1 = 10 175. As 55 is 11 × 5, we can first divide
10 175 by 11 and then by 5 to give the same answer as dividing 10 175 by 55 in one step:
10 175 ÷ 11 = 925. One way of approaching this question is to recognise that dividing by
5 is the same as multiplying by 2 and then dividing by 10: 925 × 2 ÷ 10 = 185.
(d) The long way is to add 17 thirty-five times. Other possible approaches are to place 35
on the display as 31 + 4 = 35 and then multiply the 35 on the display by 17, because
31 + 4 = (31 + 4) × 17 = 595, or to split the numbers into parts such as 17 × 35 = 17 ×
11 + 17 × 24.
2. (a) 5 555 – 155 = (3 333 + 2 222) – (73 + 82) = 3 333 + 2 222 – 73 – 82
(b) 17 × 35 = (20 – 3)(32 + 3) = 20(32 + 3) – 3(32 + 3) = 20 × 32 + 20 × 3 – 3 × 32 – 3 × 3
3. (a) 5 555 – 155 = (6 000 – 400 – 47 + 2) – (72 + 82 + 8 – 7) = 6 000 – 400 – 47 + 2 – 72 – 82
–8+7
(b) (24 – 7)(28 + 7) = 24 × 28 + 24 × 7 – 7 × 28 – 7 × 7
2.2 The graduation party

1. The group of friends see 60% or 35 of the students dancing and 14 talking. This accounts for 35
+ 14 = 17
20 of the students at the party. So if the total number of students going to the party is:
• 20, then 17 are already there and 3 arrive late

• 80, then 68 are already there and 12 arrive late.
For 20 students: 20% of 10 = 2 balloons left behind and 14 of 10 = 2 12 chocolate bars left,
which does not work as they must be whole chocolate bars
1
For 40 students: 20% of 20 = 4 balloons left behind and 4 of 20 = 5 chocolate bars left
For 60 students: 20% of 30 = 6 balloons left behind and of 30 = 7 12 chocolate bars left,
1
4
which does not work as they must be whole chocolate bars

1
For 80 students: 20% of 40 = 8 balloons left behind and 4 of 40 = 10 chocolate bars left
The possible answers must finish here, because the total number of people in the hall is no
larger than 90. So there could have been either:
• 40 party-goers (34 (85%) already at the party and 6 (15%) late), or
• 80 party-goers (68 (85%) already at the party and 12 (15%) late).
2. If 40 students are at the party, they leave behind 4 balloons and 5 chocolate bars.
If 80 students are at the party, they leave behind 8 balloons and 10 chocolate bars.

61
SOLUTIONS
2.3 Cake-making
The aim of these additions is to make whole numbers using different numbers of fractions. This
is a test of fraction addition skills. Make a list of some helpful additions such as 13 + 12 = 56 and
recognise that adding 34 four times is the same as multiplying 34 by 4: 4 × 34 = 124 = 3.
William cannot use the 34 measure an odd number of times as no other quarter measures are
available to make a whole number of cups.
Using a table is an effective way of presenting the many combinations of measures that are
possible for this activity, as it allows you to see the patterns and to cover all the combinations.
You can group the 12 and 34 cups as they have a common denominator of 4 and the 13 and 23 cups
can be used in combination – every time William uses an extra 23 cup, then he can take away two
lots of 13 cups.
1. 15 possible answers
1 2 1 3
3 cup 3 cup 2 cup 4 cup
9 – – –
7 1 – –
5 2 – –
3 3 – –
1 4 – –
– – 6 –
– – – 4
– – 3 2
2 2 2 –
6 – 2 –
– 3 2 –
3 – 1 2
1 1 1 2
3 – 4 –
1 1 4 –
1 2 1 3
12 – – –
10 1 – –
8 2 – –
6 3 – –
4 4 – –
2 5 – –
– 6 – –
– – 8 –
continued ...

SOLUTIONS
1 2 1 3
– – 2 4
– – 5 2
3 – 3 2
3 – – 4
1 1 – 4
2 2 1 2
4 1 1 2
– 3 1 2
6 – 1 2
9 – 2 –
7 1 2 –
5 2 2 –
3 3 2 –
1 4 2 –
6 – 4 –
4 1 4 –
2 2 4 –
– 3 4 –
3 – 6 –
1 1 6 –
1 2 1 3
15 – – –
13 1 – –
11 2 – –
9 3 – –
7 4 – –
5 5 – –
3 6 – –
1 7 – –
– – 7 2
– – 4 4
– – 1 6
2 2 3 2
4 1 3 2
6 – 3 2
continued ...

63
SOLUTIONS
1 2 1 3
– 3 3 2
6 – - 4
4 1 – 4
2 2 – 4
– 3 – 4
12 – 2 –
10 1 2 –
8 2 2 –
6 3 2 –
4 4 2 –
2 5 2 –
– 6 2 –
9 – 4 –
7 1 4 –
5 2 4 –-
3 3 4 –
1 4 4 –
6 – 6 –
4 1 6 –
2 2 6 –
– 3 6 –
3 – 8 –
1 1 8 –
– – 10 –
2.4 Pascal’s triangle

1. Natural numbers
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5 …}
1 Triangular numbers
{1, 3, 6, 10, 15 …}
1 1
1
1 2 1
1
1 3 3 1 2
3
1 4 6 4 1
5 Fibonacci numbers
1 5 10 10 5 1 8 {1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 …}
13
1 6 15 20 15 6 1

SOLUTIONS
2. The following are patterns in the triangle:

• One diagonal is the set of natural numbers {1, 2, 3, 4, 5..} while the next diagonal is the set
of triangular numbers {1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ...} (see the diagram above).
• The triangular numbers are made by 1 + 2 = 3, 3 + 3 = 6, 6 + 4 = 10, 10 + 5 = 15 ...
• The sum of some numbers on a diagonal form the Fibonacci sequence {1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ... }.
We make this sequence by adding each pair of sums to find the next number {1, 1, 1 + 1 = 2,
1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 5 = 8, 5 + 8 = 13, 8 + 13 = 21, ...}.
• If the first number in from the number 1 in a row is a prime number, then every other
number (except for the 1 at the other end) is divisible by that prime number.
• The sum of the numbers along a diagonal going one way is equal to the first number in the
next row down that you meet when you turn diagonally in the opposite direction (see the
diagram below).
• The sum of the rows gives the sequence {1, 2, 4, 8, 16, …}, which is the power sequence
of 2n.
1 + 7 + 28 + 84 + 210 + 1 + 6 + 21 + 56 = 84
462 + 924 = 1 716
1 + 12 = 13
2.5 House numbers

1. (a) The long way to work this out is to list them: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,
40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50}.
We can then make a table of the digits needed.
Digit 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 5 15 15 15 15 6 5 5 5 5
Total digits needed = 91
(b) We treat the digit 0 as even because when a number ending in 0 is divided by 2, it leaves
no remainder. Even digits: 5 + 15 + 15 + 5 + 5 = 45. Odd digits: 15 + 15 + 6 + 5 +
5 = 46.

65
SOLUTIONS
2. Many answers are possible depending on where the block of units is positioned on each
side of the street. Each block of units needs the digits {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} for the six units as the
digits for the number of the street (taking the lower number of the two house lots the block
occupies). For example, if the units cover house lots 5 and 7 and house lots 16 and 18, the
development plan would look like this:
5/1 5/2 5/3 5/4 5/5 5/6
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Ivanhoe Avenue
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
16/1 16/2 16/3 16/4 16/5 16/6
Based on the above design, 58 digits are needed, as follows:
Digit 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number 2 19 5 4 4 10 10 1 1 2
2.6 Living in a high rise

The hint indicates that Don’s apartment must be on the 3rd floor or above. So it could be on
the 3rd, 4th or 5th floor as he travels up 20 floors to his office, which is just below the rooftop
gymnasium on the 26th floor. We also know that the restaurant is halfway between Don’s
apartment and his office.
Based on the above information, three combinations of locations for Don’s apartment, his office
and the restaurant are possible.
Apartment 3 4 5
Office 23 24 25
Restaurant 13 14 15
We can then work out the total floors he travelled past in the lift for the day, based on each
possible location of his apartment.
Apartment 3rd floor 4th floor 5th floor
Number of 20 + 3 + 29 + 26 + 23 20 + 2 + 29 + 27 + 24 20 + 1 + 29 + 28 + 25
floors passed + (13 + 13) + 3 + (14 + 14) + 4 = 134 + (15 + 15) + 5
= 130 = 138
3.1 Mt Everest
1. 1843 – 1830 = 13 years
2. XV is a roman numeral that stands for 15. Perhaps Everest had the name Peak XV because it
was the 15th peak in the range.
3. 450 mm = 450 ÷ 10 = 45 cm of rain falls at Base Camp each year.
4. The height of Mt Everest is 8 850 metres = 29 035 feet, so 29 035 ÷ 8 850 = 3.28 feet
in 1 metre.
5. (a) –36°C – –60°C = 60°C – 36°C = 24°C
(b) –19°C – –36°C = –19°C + 36°C = 17°C
6. (a) 8 850 m – 5 400 m = 3 450 m
(b) 8 850 km – 5 900 m = 2 950 m
(c) 8 850 km – 6 500 m = 2 350 m

SOLUTIONS
(d) 8 850 km – 7 300 m = 1 550 m

(e) 8 850 km – 7 900 m = 950 m
7. The vertical section is 7 900 m + 90 m = 7 990 m above sea level. Height still to climb is
8 850 m – 7 990 m = 860 m.
3.2 Large animals

1
1. 2 of 30 cm = 15 cm
2. To compare the diameters in centimetres, convert the giant squid’s measurement to
centimetres: 0.46 m × 100 = 46 cm. So we can see that the diameter of a giant squid’s eye is
greater than the diameter of a Goliath bird-eating spider by 46 – 30 = 16 cm.
3. 32 km ÷ 40 km/h = 0.8 h or 48 minutes, probably enough time for the seal to get away, at
least this time!
4. The spider is the shortest, but we have no information about its height, only its diameter.
The other animals in increasing order of height are: humans, Yao Defen: 236 cm,
Robert Wadlow: 272 cm; polar bear: 370 cm; giraffe: 550 cm; giant squid: 1 680 cm.
5. If we assume the largest female polar bear is 13 of the size of the largest male, she would be
1 1
3 × 3.7 = 1.2 m tall and 3 of 1 002 kg = 334 kg.
6. Answers will vary. To answer this question, you will need to use Yao Defen’s height in
centimetres, which you worked out for question 4, and know (or find out) your own height
in centimetres.
7. The giraffe would take 561 hours to run 1 kilometre and so would take 1
560 hours to run
1
100 metres. In seconds, this is 560 × 60 × 60 = 6.4 s.
The polar bear would take 401 hours to run 1 kilometre and so would take 400
1
hours to run 100 metres.
1
In seconds, this is 400 × 60 × 60 = 9 s. So the giraffe would win the race by 9 – 6.4 = 2.6 s.
The polar bear would have run for 6.4 seconds. In this time, it would have run 40 × 1 000 ×
6.4 ÷ 60 ÷ 60 = 71.1 m, while the giraffe has run 100 metres.
The difference between them is 100 – 71.1 = 28.9 m. So the giraffe won the race by 28.9 metres.
3.3 The human skeleton

1. The skeleton weighs 18% of the weight of the body: 18% of 78 kg = 18 × 78 ÷ 100 = 14.04 kg.
18
2. 27 kg ÷ 18% = 27 ÷ 100 = 150 kg
2
3. 12 × 100 = 16 %. The answer is the same if you calculate based on all ribs ( 244 ) rather than the
2
3
ribs on one side.

4. 27% of 180 = 27 × 180 ÷ 100 = 48.6 cm
5. Bones in the hands and feet: 2 × (26 + 27) = 106. Percentage of bones in a baby’s hands and
feet: 106 ÷ 300 × 100 = 35 13 %
6. 300 bones in a baby’s body turn into 200 to 210 in an adult’s body. So between 90 and 100
bones are fused as a person develops into adulthood.
7. 0.3 cm ÷ 48.6 cm × 100 = 0.6% so each of the small bones in the ear is only 0.6% of the
length of the femur.

67
Maths Problem Solving for Higher Achieving Students
Finding mathematics resources that both cater to the curriculum requirements of the whole
class and stretch your most eager and capable young mathematicians can be a tall order.
The good news is that you need look no further than the second edition of the Maths
Problem Solving for Higher Achieving Students series. As well as providing introductory
lesson tasks that give all students plenty of materials to work through at the level that is
appropriate to them, it offers enrichment and extension activities for higher achieving
students to work above and beyond the normal mathematics curriculum and develop their
higher-order thinking skills. Students are challenged in a variety of ways, with each of the
three sections providing a different experience of the problem-solving process. The first
section takes a scaffolded approach with three levels of instruction; the second encourages
students to think broadly to solve open-ended problems, recognising that any such
problem has more than one possible answer; and the third presents general word problems
to build on and reinforce the link between literacy and problem solving. Detailed solutions
to questions in all sections are also provided.
Code: EB51135 Code: EB51136

ISBN: 978-1-77655-690-8 ISBN: 978-1-77655-691-5

Maths Problem Solving For High Achieving Students - Book 2

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Code: EB51135 Code: EB51136

Section 1: Three levels of instruction – lesson, application and extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Section 2: Open-ended problem solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Section 3: General word problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Section 1: Three levels of instruction

Section 2: Open-ended problem solving

Section 3: General word problems

4 © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

Activity 1.1: Spending money (pages 8–11)

Students need to have a sound knowledge of working with decimal numbers

Convey these key points:

Activity 1.2: Sharing and describing items

1. Whole-class activity practice: Challenge students to describe the collection

© Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

Activity 1.3: Bucket measures (pages 17–20)

Convey these key points:

Activity 1.4: Balancing weights (pages 21–24)

Begin by asking: “How do you know when a seesaw is balanced?” (The

Convey these key points:

Also ask students about their experiences of balance on a seesaw.

6 © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

Activity 1.5: Consecutive numbers (pages 25–28)

Convey these key points:

Activity 1.6: Missing digits (pages 29–32)

Convey these key points:

© Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

1. Warm up with these practice questions.

(a) 5 × $11.60 = _______

(b) 7 × $9.90 = _______

(c) 6 × $5.30 = _______

(d) 9 × $7.80 = _______

(e) $152.40 ÷ 6 = _______

(f) $184.80 ÷ 11 = _______

(g) $79.80 ÷ 7 = _______

(h) $876.00 ÷ 5 = _______

2. A stationery shop is selling exercise books at $2.80 each.

(a) Find the cost of 11 exercise books.

8 © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

Number Ballpoint pens Felt-tipped pens Gel pens

(a) 2 ballpoint pens and 3 felt-tipped pens

(b) 2 felt-tipped pens and 4 gel pens

(c) 5 felt-tipped pens and 2 ballpoint pens

(d) 3 gel pens and 4 felt-tipped pens

© Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

10 © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

© Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

Introductory class task: Cube cards

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4

12 © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

Introductory class task

(Teacher note: See page 5 for key points on

© Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

3. Zoe has 15 cubes, which she stacks in four piles.

14 © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

2. Find the number of cubes in each pile.

© Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

Total Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3 Pile 4 Counters Counters

16 © Essential Resources Educational Publishers Ltd

Images: Released into the public domain under CC0 1.0

The weight of ___ hexagon(s) = _ circle(s) = ___ triangle(s).

(a) a b _____ (c) 1 2 a a _ (e) 8 a 0 b 5 a _______

(b) 3 b a _ (d) 5 a 2 b _

(b) 4 2 3 a = _ (d) 5 2 3 a = _