A Maths Game under the Magnifying Glass
Archive - October 2013
Now that you've tried the game, let's think like a mathematician and explore some of the maths behind the game.
To build your mathematical understanding you may like to choose an investigation topic or question from those below, or propose your own. Be sure to talk about your findings with your friends, class or family. You may even like to share your question on the blog page for others to explore.
Exploring shape
What do you notice about the Tetris pieces? What do they have in common? How are they different?
Each of these pieces is an example of a tetromino. How many different tetrominoes do you think there are? Can you draw them? Is there more than one answer? Why?
Make two sets of tetrominoes using grid paper, including only those shapes that can't be made by rotating or flipping another piece. Can you arrange the pieces to make a solid rectangle? How many different ways can you do it? How do you know there are no others?
Can you use what you've learned to determine how many different shapes it is possible to create using 5 squares (joined along whole sides)? How can you be sure you've found them all? What system could you apply?
Exploring mathematical language
If dominoes are made of 2 joined squares, and tetrominoes are shaped like Tetris pieces, is there a name for other shapes made up of squares joined in this manner? Try conducting a little research.
What do you notice about the prefixes we use to describe these shapes? What other number prefixes do you know?
What languages do these number prefixes come from? Group the prefixes and related mathematical words according to language. Can you think of other words which are similar to each example?
Good luck with your investigations!
To build your mathematical understanding you may like to choose an investigation topic or question from those below, or propose your own. Be sure to talk about your findings with your friends, class or family. You may even like to share your question on the blog page for others to explore.
Exploring shape
What do you notice about the Tetris pieces? What do they have in common? How are they different?
Each of these pieces is an example of a tetromino. How many different tetrominoes do you think there are? Can you draw them? Is there more than one answer? Why?
Make two sets of tetrominoes using grid paper, including only those shapes that can't be made by rotating or flipping another piece. Can you arrange the pieces to make a solid rectangle? How many different ways can you do it? How do you know there are no others?
Can you use what you've learned to determine how many different shapes it is possible to create using 5 squares (joined along whole sides)? How can you be sure you've found them all? What system could you apply?
Exploring mathematical language
If dominoes are made of 2 joined squares, and tetrominoes are shaped like Tetris pieces, is there a name for other shapes made up of squares joined in this manner? Try conducting a little research.
What do you notice about the prefixes we use to describe these shapes? What other number prefixes do you know?
What languages do these number prefixes come from? Group the prefixes and related mathematical words according to language. Can you think of other words which are similar to each example?
Good luck with your investigations!