Playing about with shape: Tuesday maths with Lesley

Number one.

 What is the greatest number of squares you can make by overlapping three squares of the same size?

Number two. (for those with Lego, or anything similar)

Well, here I've placed a group of cubes. They are in threes and coloured differently.

 

What do you notice about them?

 

You could get 8 triple cubes like these, each triple a different colour. Don't separate the triple but use them as building blocks to see what you can make.

 

For some of you it would be good to keep the eight triple cubes facing their own ways and not turn them around. In this way we keep eight arrangements that are different.

 

We can now use these as building blocks to make interesting arrangements and shapes. Here is one to start us off.

Number three.

If you cut a square diagonally from corner to corner you get four right-angled isosceles triangles.

 

 

How many different shapes can you make by fitting the four triangles back together?

You may only fit long sides to long sides and short sides to short sides.

The whole length of the side must be joined.

Number four. This one is tricky!

The net of a cube has been cut into two. It could be put together in several ways so that it could be folded into a cube.

 

Here are the nets of 9 solid shapes. Each one of these has been cut into 2 pieces, like the net of the cube.

 

Can you see which pieces go together?