AQUiLA MYSTERIOUS MATHS ACTIVITY
AGameofTwoHalves
Learning objectives
– Understandhowtwohalvesofashapecanbespread outindifferentways – Workouthowtoestimatethevolumesoftwohalves withoutanyspecialtools
O
30 minutes + INDIVIDUAL / PAIRS : Two or more players ( plus one person for judging the results ) Difficulty : Easy peasy
Yourmission
Areyouamasteratcutingthingsinhalf ? Oh , youare ? Doyouknowanyoneelsewhoseskilsmatchyourown ? YOUDO ? Then thischalengeisperfectforyouboth . Inthisgame , playersmustsculptshapes , swapthem andthenseewhocancomeclosest tochoppingthem inhalf . Perfecthalves , thatis !
ThisgameislooselybasedontheHam SandwichTheorem , whichyoucanreadaboutinAQUILA ’ sMysteriousMathsisue !
Getstarted
Phase 1 : Sculpting
Coveryourgamingareawithnewspaper , sothingsdon ’ tgettoomessy . Giveal playersanequalamountofsculptingmaterial . Setyourtimerfor2minutes . When thecountdownbegins , everyonemustsculptanunusualshape . Trynottomakeit symmetrical , andfeelfreetoaddnooks , blobsandbitsthatpokeout . Youwantitto bedifficultfortheotherpersontocutintoperfecthalves !
Phase 2 : Cutting in Half
Whenthetimerrunsout , eachplayermustpastheirsculpturetotheplayerontheir right . Takingabuterknife , eachplayermustthencutthesculptureinfrontofthem inhalf , asaccuratelyastheycan .
Phase 3 : Judging
Yourdesignatedjudgemustdecidewhichplayerhasmostaccuratelyhalvedtheir sculpture . Theeasiestwaytodothisistoroleachhalfintoabal , thencomparesizes . Ifthebalsseem tobeexactlythesamesize , thepersonwhocutthehalvescould bethewinner ! Alternatively , bothhalvescouldbeweighed , sothejudgecansee howsimilartheweightsare . Itisuptothejudgewhowinstheround . Noarguments , please !
You will need – Modelingclayorplaydough – Oldnewspaper – Atimer – Buterknives ( carefulnow ) – Adesignatedjudge – Weighingscales ( optional )
Ifyou ’ ve enjoyedthis activity , folow thiscodeto �ndoutabout subscribingto AQUILAtoday !
AWESOME
MAGAZINEALERT !
SCANME
Afterthe�rstround , youcaneliminatetheleastaccurateplayeruntilyou ’ vefound yourultimatewinner ! Sinceyou ’ lhavethehangofitbynow , trysculptingevenmore unusualshapestothrowtheotherplayersoff !
Wewanttoseeyourcrazyshapesandperfecthalves ! Sendphotostothe addressontheReaders ’ PageoftheAQUILAwebsite , andwe ’ lshareasmany aswecan .
Page 1 of 1 © AQUILAmagazine . WritenbyLiam R . Findlay