Category Archives: Maths

Ideas for revision and exams for students

This is a distillation of my presentations in November 2016 to the Maths in Action days run by The Training Partnership in London and Warwick and to the Coopers Company and Coborn School in January 2017. A teacher version is here. KNOW WHAT … Continue reading

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Ideas for revision and exams for teachers

This is a distillation of my presentations in November 2016 to the Maths in Action days run by The Training Partnership in London and Warwick. A student version is here.   KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Topic guide – issue it, … Continue reading

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Fun with Yangma

I was very pleased to discover recently that the shape formed from a net I like using for more advanced constructions has a proper name, a “Yangma”. I would normally require pupils to create the net using mathematical instruments then fold up … Continue reading

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Rob Eastaway’s Dinner Table Problem

An ever so very slightly embroidered recounting of the problem It is party time chez Eastaway as one of the nation’s favourite mathematicians Rob and his wife have invited six people round for dinner. The desserts have been cleared and … Continue reading

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Musical Analysis of Bird Song

There has long been an association between music and birdsong; the twentieth century French composer Olivier Messiaen is well known for his use of carefully observed bird calls in his music, as explored in this short film by the London … Continue reading

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The Perfect Snowman

During the surprisingly seasonal cold snap at the start of 2013, which brought the country to its usual grinding halt, the inestimable Dr Grime posed a question on twitter as to how one should form the most perfectly spherical ball … Continue reading

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Rob Eastaway’s Triangle Challenge

A couple of weeks ago the mathematician, author and all-round nice chap, Rob Eastaway tweeted a question which fitted perfectly with the next topic for my Year Seven top set: “What happens if you give an irregular triangle to a … Continue reading

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Words and Numbers 3

A recent tweet, by the author and mathematician Rob Eastaway, requested important non-sporting occurrences of coin tossing. I got a little carried away and, half an hour of internetary later, had found a whole gaggle of stories, mostly very sad … Continue reading

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Words and Numbers 2

After visiting Bath and listening to Alex Bellos’s talk I was led to muse particularly on the cognitive processes used by the two girls in the abacus clip. I had been aware for some time that generally [and I know … Continue reading

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