THREE WISE GIFTS

Three wise guys (Balth, Melch and Gaz) each bought you a gift. The total cost of the gifts was £38. Find as many sets of gifts as possible which add up to £38

£22 £15 £9 £24
£38 £6 £9 £14
£21 £19 £7 £10
£8 £20 £23 £25

Teacher: Collect together students' findings by clicking on the numbers above.

They don't add up to 38

A Mathematics Lesson Starter Of The Day

Globe of Flags

This activity is suitable for students of mathematics all around the world. Use the button below to change the currency symbol used to make it more relevant to your students. You may wish to choose an unfamiliar currency to extend your students' experience.

Globe of Flags


Topics: Starter | Arithmetic | Mental Methods | Xmas

You can find many more ChristMaths activities at:

Transum.org/ChristMaths/

ChristMaths

  • Chris Southward, Limehouse School Cumbria
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  • Year 7 found four more which you haven't mentioned in your triplets summing to 34 list. 24,3,7 - 24,5,5 - 25,3,6, and 23,7,4
  • Liz Masshedar, Peterlee
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  • Just found this site. Already my year 6 pupils are reminding me to find the day's challenge. It is a really good resource to start the maths lesson and give them something to think about. Thanks!
  • A O'Hagan, First year Holyrood Sec Glasgow
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  • Cesco and Asim found two more...22,8,4 and 21,8,5. The whole class managed to find all the others.
  • Mrs Humphreys' Maths group, Nevill Road Juniors, Bramhall, Stockport
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  • We (year 6) found another 6 triplets that weren't mentioned.
  • Class 5, Speyside
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  • We found 10, did yoy find any more?
  • Emma Roach,
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  • We got 11 different triplets.
    Did this with bottom set year 8 who loved doing it!
  • P5, Giffnock Primary
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  • P5 at Giffnock Primary School found 12 triplets!!
  • Class 2/6, Lauren Cowie
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  • This was too easy for us and not very challenging, and not up to the usual standard.
  • Room 2 Maths, Taradale Intermediate
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  • We are pretty choice, because we got 13!!
  • Stewart, Direk Schools South Australia
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  • Year 6/7 class found 12 combination.
  • 2V, Stromness Academy
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  • We got 14!
  • M Ozog, Inverkiething High School
  •  
  • 4MA5 found 13
    Well done.
  • Mr M's Nice But Dim Group, Canggu Community School, Bali
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  • Zac found 15, but then Zac can't count. We actually found 11 as a whole class, love the starters - keep it up!
  • Miss Nixey, Dartington Primary School
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  • Year 5 and 6 at Dartington Primary School found 15 different ways. Well done everyone!
  • 1AFG2, Dyce Academy
  •  
  • Dyce Academy got 15 triplets. We are very smart!
  • Mrs Renny, BTJS
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  • 5GR at Bishop Tufnell found 14 triplets!
  • Mrs D, Chadsmead Lichfield
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  • Chadsmead year 5 got 14!
  • Katie Pasby, Hampton College
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  • I found 17 triplets.
  • Mrs Rush, Reepham High
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  • 8MAH found 13 and are still looking!
  • Mrs Simpson, Forres Academy
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  • Our S1 class got 15 triplets! Enjoyed this challenge.
  • Year 10, Welshpool High School
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  • We reckon there is lot more than 17. At least 30!
  • Year 9 Set 3 2011, Welshpool High School, Powys, Wales
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  • Kirsty found 16 which we thought was really good. Louis and Alistair found 14.Others ranged down to 3.
  • Mr Morriss Class 7B3, Montgomery High School
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  • We spend 5 mins individually and then gathered our answers together and got 16 as a class!!! We really enjoyed this task and got pretty competitive between ourselves and the rest of the Schools that commented on here!!
  • 7b3, Derby High School
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  • This is a good puzzle we'd like to see more like this.
  • E Walters, Brigshaw High School
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  • We found 18! We are good!
  •  

  • Stewart, Lake Windemere
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  • Room 17
    Year 6/7 class found 16.
  • Mr Gregory, Lincolnshire
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  • We found 13! Mr Gregory reckons there definitely are no more than that (but he did miss one out earlier).
  • Mrs Taylor, North Muirton
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  • Our P6 class are awesome, we got 21! we love these challenges.
  • Trevor Lewis, Nortonthorpe Hall School
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  • We found 27 and then had to give up for time.
  • 7 BM1, Harlow
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  • We found 30 but we ran out of time!
  • Kirsty . I . Brown, Selkirk, Scotish Borders (Selkirk High School)
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  • This was a really good acivity and it was fun, I didnt do it at school but I did it at home and it was fun, I have a long list of sums that add up to thirty and it was really good, I would like to see more of this!
  • Matthew, 3D, Craigslea State School
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  • For a total of 40, I had these 14:
    1. 27, 7, 6
    2. 21, 11, 8
    3. 15, 14, 11
    4. 24, 10, 6
    5. 22, 11, 7
    6. 24, 9, 7
    7. 26, 8, 6
    8. 23, 9, 8
    9. 25, 8, 7
    10. 21, 10, 9
    11. 22, 10, 8
    12. 27, 8, 7
    13. 23, 10, 7
    14. 24, 9, 7.
  • STEVE EASTOP, MARGATE, KENT. UK
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  • The 4x4 grid that came up for me comprised of the numbers: 3,6,7,8,9,10,13,14,14,15,15,16,17,18,19 and 32.
    I've found the following 13 triplets that total 32 (without double counting): (as there are two 13s and two 14s in the grid)
    (3,10,16)
    (3,13,16)
    (3,14,15)
    (6,7,19)
    (6,8,18)
    (6,9,17)
    (6,10,16)
    (7,8,17)
    (7,9,16)
    (7,10,15)
    (8,9,15)
    (8,10,14) and
    (9,10,13).
  • P6/7, St Elizabeths
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  • We loved this problem and managed to find 26 solutions!
  • S3, Speyside High School
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  • We found 13 all together and had good fun too. Thank you!
  • Star Primary,
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  • Year 6 at Star Primary got 12! :).
  • Year 6, AAESS
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  • We enjoyed this activity and found lots of possible answers.
  • Mrs Robinson, 8 - 3
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  • We found 35 Y8 St Bernards.
  • Mrs Anderson, Newark
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  • We loved it. Pine Y5 got 46 tripllets! Well Done!
  • Da Vinci, William Martin Junior School
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  • One student got 30 possible answers. We enjoyed the activity.
  • Nadeem, England
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  • Wow! this is a very good stater of the day. Already my Year 6s have found 29 sums, which Im really proud of! Fantastic!
  • Mr Gray, Buscksburn Maths, Twitter
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  • Came up with loads of combinations. Even more when we realised the website let us use the same number twice.
  • Mr Ian Stevenson, Orched Head Primary School
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  • Triplets are the best thing I have shown my class.
  • Laura Whittaker, St Mark's
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  • We found 27 different ways to make 40!
  • All Saints Maths Department, Twitter
  •  

How did you use this starter? Can you suggest how teachers could present or develop this resource? Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for Maths teachers anywhere in the world.
Click here to enter your comments.

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Note to teacher: Doing this activity once with a class helps students develop strategies. It is only when they do this activity a second time that they will have the opportunity to practise those strategies. That is when the learning is consolidated. Click the button above to regenerate another version of this starter from random numbers.


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How Not To Be Wrong

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The maths we learn in school can seem like an abstract set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In fact, Jordan Ellenberg shows us, maths touches on everything we do, and a little mathematical knowledge reveals the hidden structures that lie beneath the world's messy and chaotic surface. In How Not to be Wrong, Ellenberg explores the mathematician's method of analyzing life, from the everyday to the cosmic, showing us which numbers to defend, which ones to ignore, and when to change the equation entirely. Along the way, he explains calculus in a single page, describes Gödel's theorem using only one-syllable words, and reveals how early you actually need to get to the airport.

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Calculator

Apple iPad Pro

The analytics show that more and more people are accessing Transum Mathematics via an iPad as it is so portable and responsive. The iPad has so many other uses in addition to solving Transum's puzzles and challenges and it would make an excellent gift for anyone.

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Another Craig Barton Book

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The films in this ambitious series offer clear, accessible explanations of important mathematical ideas but are also packed with engaging anecdotes, fascinating biographical details, and pivotal episodes in the lives of the great mathematicians. Engaging, enlightening and entertaining, the series gives viewers new and often surprising insights into the central importance of mathematics, establishing this discipline to be one of humanity s greatest cultural achievements. This DVD contains all four programmes from the BBC series.

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Christmas Maths

This book provides a wealth of fun activities with a Christmas theme. Each photocopiable worksheet is matched to the Numeracy Strategy and compatible with the Scottish 5-14 Guidelines. This series is designed for busy teachers in the late Autumn term who are desperate for materials that are relevant and interesting and that can be completed with minimun supervision.

All the activities are suitable for use by class teachers, supply teachers, SEN teachers and classroom assistants and cover topics such as 'How many partridges did the true love give all together?' and 'Filling a sleigh with presents by rolling a dice!'. Children will have lots of fun working through the Christmas Maths themes but also gain valuable skills along the way.

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A Compendium Of 	Mathematical Methods

A Compendium Of Mathematical Methods

How many different methods do you know to solve simultaneous equations? To multiply decimals? To find the nth term of a sequence?

A Compendium of Mathematical Methods brings together over one hundred different approaches from classrooms all over the world, giving curious mathematicians the opportunity to explore fascinating methods that they've never before encountered.

If you teach mathematics to any age group in any country, you are guaranteed to learn lots of new things from this delightful book. It will deepen your subject knowledge and enhance your teaching, whatever your existing level of expertise. It will inspire you to explore new approaches with your pupils and provide valuable guidance on explanations and misconceptions. more... #ad

Math with Bad Drawings

I had been tutoring the wonderful Betsy for five years. When the day came for our last ever session together before the end of her Year 13, I received this beautiful book as a gift of appreciation.

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Ben Orlin answers maths' three big questions: Why do I need to learn this? When am I ever going to use it? Why is it so hard? The answers come in various forms-cartoons, drawings, jokes, and the stories and insights of an empathetic teacher who believes that mathematics should belong to everyone. more... #ad

Click the images above to see all the details of these gift ideas and to buy them online.

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Laptops In Lessons

Teacher, do your students have access to computers?
Do they have iPads or Laptops in Lessons?

Whether your students each have a TabletPC, a Surface or a Mac, this activity lends itself to eLearning (Engaged Learning).

Laptops In Lessons

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Here is the URL which will take them to student version of this activity.

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Student Activity

 


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