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[CURIOUSMIND]

My DS1 is very advanced on maths, he is working on L6-L7 in year3. I know the teaching for him is next to nothing although they said they will accommdate his ablity.

Anyway, everytime when the homework is maths, he was given a puzzle(I mean everytime).Well, some of them are logical and fun, you do need to work step by step in mathmatic method. (I pursuaded myself not to complain because it will only make DS1 feel bad although I really feel they are running out of idea to challenge a gifted mathematician).

It goes extremly far for a week.He was given a puzzle which has little to do with maths, but needs awful lots of trying.I agreed my DS1 to not doing this homework. He then wrote down on his book(He said he needed to tell the teacher why.) :I found this puzzle is not very logical, you need to try and try again.

The week after, The teacher left this msg: Thank you very much for your commments.However this homework is not optional.

My immediate feeling is to leave her: Could you please explain to Ds1 how to sort out this puzzle in mathematic method?

But, I think I would consult mumsnet first. Could you please show your opinion?

I am intruiged by the puzzle, but your DS clearly wasn't, OP.

If he had written "I tried to do this for 30 minutes but could not find a solution" would the teacher have reacted differently?

Maybe the wrong level, but surely there is nothing wrong with sometimes giving him something which required as much persistence as skill? If he only gets the bits of maths that he likes then he really isn't going to learn much. My maths-whizz son moaned about the tedium of "doing shapes" last term - but that didn't mean he was allowed to get out of it, it's an important aspect of maths.

There is a branch of maths called decision math which does actually just involve a lot of trial and error and occasionally there is no rhyme or reason as to the best conclusion of a puzzle - this is all part of expanding your mathmetical mind and looking to see if there is a pattern even if it doesn't exist.

However, it does seem fairly advanced for you son!

www.reocities.com/oosterwal/puzzle/magic.html

There are 960 solutions.

the 960 solutions will reduce drastically with the two numbers given and their positions.

i love sudoku. but it makes my head hurt. i think that's part of the fun.

op, give us the two numbers and their positions - there will be hordes of mners giving it to their kids tonight.

I'm trying to work out which they class as the vertices - are they the lines from the point to the bit where the line joins the centre?
There aren't 4 in a row, or even in a point.
Is it possible to put the picture that he was given on your profile, please?

crossposted - i see what they mean.
ta :)

We definitely need to know where the numbers given are.

She means the intersections.

If you draw it as two triangles (one inverted) on top of each other, then you'll get the shape.

Please OP tell us the the two given numbers (see my previous post for an alphabetic code suggestion of indicating their places). I'd love to have a go, and might loose a DC or two onto it too.

Ive got two overlaid triangel (six points) ten vertices - where do the missing two go?

I disagree it's a trial and error problem. I think if you have the numbers you could work it out using algebra. In fact there must be an equation that explains the solution.

Now what are those two numbers?

each of the points is a vertex, and the bits where the two triangels cross are all vertices.

what do we need?
numbers!
when do we need them?
now!

It's a star of david isn't it? Now just need those numbers

how many of us are trying to do it now, without any numbers to plug in?

Yes - I want those numbers now, so I've got something with me to do whilst waiting for DD to finish her club!

One. Or zero. If in doubt it's always one or zero.

The answer is 42.

HTH

OP, are you convinced yet that this is in fact an interesting problem ?

I want those numbers [stamps feet]

waiting here for the numbers too!

Have set the challenge to DS (top set Y7) to see how he gets on!

It seems to me like a perfectly legitimate maths question. Too hard for your ds, but most certain not remotely illogical or unrelated to maths!!!! Another person chomping at the bit and waiting for those two numbers and their position...

why are we waiting?
we are suffocating!

come on come on come on come on come on!!

I thought I had it without the 2 numbers AND I'd used a logical method. Just coming on to boast but realised that one line added up to 39!

one of us could peek at any of the 960 available solutions, pick two numbers and their positions and then post them? i suspect the homework ones were cunningly picked to give you a head-start though, but not too much, like all the best sudoku

Sorry, Guys, I am sooooo late.
The numbers given are 11, 12.