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Jun 212017
 

mapThe Sheaf Valley Maths Trail is a short walk starting outside Sheffield City College on Granville Road, along the footpath to Sheffield Station and the steel blade sculpture, behind the station to the steel steps and the amphitheatre, up the hill to the Cholera Monument and then back to college via Clay Wood. Along the way you will answer questions on many different aspects of mathematics. It is suitable for school groups, college students studying Functional Skills, home schoolers and their parents or anyone who would like to have a go!

Download the student booklet here. It is best printed as a booklet.

amphitheatrescaledThere are also a teachers booklet and a powerpoint which I will send to you on request. Email graham@mathswithgraham.org.uk to request these. Please let me know who you are planning to use it with.

Topics touched on on the trail include

Number

Counting

Multiplication

Fractions

Time calculations

Reading a timetable

Calculating journey cost

Speed Distance Time calculations

Shape and Space

Measuring length

Estimating length and weight

Symmetry (Line and Rotational)

3 dimensional shape

Angles

Circle calculations

Volume of a cuboid

Area of irregular shapes

Data Handling

Averages

monument

 

Feel free to adapt the trail by missing out some questions and adding others to make it suitable for your students/pupils.

Split your group into teams of 3 or 4 people. Make sure less able students are paired with more able students. Each team will need a DIY tape measure, a large ball of string, a large protractor, a pencil and a calculator. You need to work out the logistics of ensuring there is someone to help at the various stopping points.

Tell your students to stay together, look after each other and take extra care when crossing roads. If this is a school/college outing you will need to fill in a risk assessment.

 

 

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Penrose Triangle sheffcol_logo

 

Feb 162014
 

Here is a crossword to help you with some of the important vocabulary you need for statistics at GCSE level. You can do the interactive version or print off a paper copy and check you answers later on the interactive version. There are a few non-mathematical clues!

Oct 152012
 

Here is an interesting info-graphic that shows which languages are spoken most throughout the world.

Can you design a bar chart or a pie chart to show this information?

How about carrying out a survey to find out which languages are spoken in your class/course or college? You will need to plan it carefully first, working out how to collect the data. Then analyse your data, putting it into tables. Finally present your data using graphs and charts in a format that will make people want to read it.

Jul 272012
 

Interesting news today that the NHS want to introduce standardised health charts to monitor patients pulse, temperature, blood pressure, breathing rate, level of consciousness, and oxygen saturation. Apparently each hospital currently has its own chart, leading to confusion when staff move between hospitals.

Here is some of the coverage.

BBC

Guardian

Telegraph

Mail

If ever there was a good example of “Functional Maths”, this is it!  Everyone should have a basic understanding of these charts.

Maths with Graham would like to be able to access the video on the learning portal which explains how to use this chart, but searches haven’t yet managed to find it. Please let me know if you have the link.

Jul 252012
 

Here is an excellent video that shows how statistics have shaped our world. How they have been used to show smoking causes causes lung cancer, to translate languages and even to understand our feelings.

The Joy of Stats

According to Vimeo

“Documentary which takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride through the wonderful world of statistics to explore the remarkable power they have to change our understanding of the world, presented by superstar boffin Professor Hans Rosling, whose eye-opening, mind-expanding and funny online lectures have made him an international internet legend.”

Mar 152012
 

Here is a great website to learn how to make paper planes.

Why not organise a competition to see which type of plane flies the furthest? Collect data on the flight distances and work out the average distance flown. Does it make any difference if you use mean, median or mode? Work out the range in flight distances. What does this tell you? Which sort of plane is the best?