Number Puzzle (y6 school work help)

[Mumdiva99]

Hi,

My daughter has just been set this. There are no instructions. Help please....please tell me how you get the answer. (Bonus points if you tell me what she should be learning from this).

Prize is a Salmon en croute with extra boiled potato's.

The answer is 99

But surely there must be some instructions or background teaching, because otherwise, it seems a bit advanced for a 10 YO?

I'm a numerate adult who can often see 'patterns' in numbers, so the solution jumped out at me in seconds, but I would have thought that for it to be taught maths, rather than a puzzle game, there should be a build up or an example or something?

Is that actually 99 barbara or are you just after the double carb prize? - we need to know how you got there.

For a clue without giving the answer away, I'd say, each line is independent, and think about addition and multiplication.

Yes the answer is 99 and I'll have the salmon en croute but only as long as there's some sauce or butter for the boiled potatoes.

Oh I've got it from the clue, but it would have taken me ages to spot the pattern otherwise! I can confirm it's 99 too. Barbara's clue is how you get there

I asked her about the build up...apparently all they have been told is to not spend more than 30 minutes on it.

(Normally her school is quite good....but yesterday I saw a TA berate some children for not getting a good enough score in a multiple choice quiz on map symbols when again there was no learning, transfer or scaffolding first. Apparently they were supposed to redo the quiz until they got better answers...... I had a big discussion with my husband as to why that follows no pedagogical theory....

I've just told my daughter not to do this puzzle for now....)

DSD has had a few of these too over the years (although more so in secondary than at primary age). They are great for kids who enjoy puzzles, but for those who struggle with maths like DSD they just serve to create an even bigger hatred of maths!

OK....got it thanks. (Still don't think she needs to spend hours on it.)

I'll make a nice creamy sauce and add extra butter on the spuds.

I think the answer is 89

Yes....isn't it 89, not 99?

I think the same as crazycatlady

Yes you are right crazy cat lady.

It's easy once you get going, but I think my dc at that age would have needed to have instructions or an example to be able to get going on it. It's just frustrating for them to sit staring at it with no clues at all.

Sorry shouldnit be 89? Otherwise I don't have it

89 not 99!!!

Btw I’m a maths teacher and set this kind of thing sometimes. (Most) Kids love it because it really gets them thinking. And if there’s a space for them to justify their answer then it doesn’t matter if they get it right. I would expect a couple to say 72 because the bottom row is always one more than the 3rd row. Might set it for my year 6 as a starter next lesson ...

Can someone explain the solution to me? I'm normally okay at this sort of thing but it's totally eluding me!

I agree, 89.

The thought of spending 30 minutes on this is insane! Way to teach children to hate something.

Yep, 89!

I would also add though that this would not be a task. It would be a starter to promote thinking and discussion. Kids would “call out” and explain their reasoning

Also, with adult sequence puzzles (e.g. the MENSA puzzles they put in newspapers), I can often justify my answer but it's wrong.

For those desperate to know 9 x 8 + 9 + 8
(Multiply first 2 numbers in the row then add them both on to your answer)

There aren't instructions because the point is to get them practising the skills they know ( + - x ) in a fun way, re-combining numbers, etc., in a fun way.

(Although that pattern-recognition skill might be useful in an11+ area. Wrong format for 11+, though!)

So it's the product plus the sum of the first two numbers in the row?