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Let’s start with some folding…
Fold the card into a cube
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Make some
Maths:
Hands-on
enrichment
Avril Steele
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Better and best solutions We are building some new towns and can put
new roads wherever we want.
What is the shortest total length of road needed
to connect the new towns together?
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• 3 towns
• equilateral triangle
• total road length = 3 miles
• 4 towns
• square
• total road length = 4 miles
Steiner problems
1 1
1
1 1
1
1
Can you find a better solution than mine for each?
What’s the minimum length necessary for each?
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Solutions
3
33
3
3
3
Total =
= 1.73…
3
3
3
Total =
= 2.73…
1 + 3
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BubblesSteiner problems can be demonstrated using soap
bubbles.
Demo
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Hexagons Make a hexagon out of 6 lolly sticks and
butterfly pins
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Materials What happens when you squash a solid object?
Poisson’s ratio
% increase in width
% decrease in height
Poisson’s ratio of cork
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Grid structures Make a honeycomb grid
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Auxetic grid Rearrange the grid to make it auxetic
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Auxetic grid
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mathematics education
Independent UK curriculum development body
We offer continuing professional development
courses, provide specialist tuition for students
and work with employers to enhance
mathematical skills in the workplace
We also pioneer the development of innovative
teaching and learning resources
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