Mathematics in Everyday Life

Siv Domeij
Kerstin Domeij
Christina Lind
Komvux, Örnsköldsvik Sweden

Can the use of “hands-on” exercises from situations in

everyday life affect the student’s attitude to
mathematics?
 Foreword

Thank you to
- our students on mathematics course A at Komvux Open Learning Centre who
responded to our questionnaires and worked with our laborative boxes. Special thanks to
those who allowed themselves to be interviewed and open-heartedly shared with us their
experiences of studying mathematics.
- our tutor at the Department of Education at Umeå University, Chatrine Johansson and
Lena Ålander, who guided us through organisational strategies and report writing.
- Lena Boström who helped us with the section on learning styles and also shared her
experience as a researcher with us.
- Barbro Grevholm who helped us to find literature and encouraged us in our work.
- Kunskapslyftet which contributed to the financing.

Örnsköldsvik January 2002

- English at work, Cathrine Sjödin, who helped us with the English version of the report.

Örnsköldsvik April 2003

2
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................4

AIM ..........................................................................................................................5

TARGET GROUP ..................................................................................................6

PARTICIPANTS ....................................................................................................6

ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................................6

IMPLEMENTATION
Background ...................................................................................................7
Students’ attitudes to mathematics at the beginning of the course...............7
“Hands-on” boxes.........................................................................................8
Miscellaneous ...............................................................................................8

RESULTS/ANALYSIS
Attitudes to mathematics at the beginning of the course..............................9
Reasons for a negative attitude ..................................................................10
Attitudes to mathematics after the course...................................................11
Evaluation of “hands-on” boxes in a big group ..........................................11

DISCUSSION
Result ..........................................................................................................13
Looking into the future ...............................................................................13

REFERENCES .....................................................................................................14

APPENDICES
Questionnaire..............................................................................................15
“Hands-on” boxes.......................................................................................17

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 Mathematics in everyday life
Siv Domeij
Kerstin Domeij
Christina Lind
Komvux, Örnsköldsvik Sweden

Can the use of “hands-on” exercises from situations in everyday life affect the
student’s attitude to mathematics?

INTRODUCTION

For some years we have offered mathematics courses at an Open Learning Centre. This
means that the students work individually, following their own plan. They can start at any
time during the term and they decide themselves how long they will study and the
number of lessons per week. We find support for this form of working in the
Government’s bill on adult learning and the development of adult education:
“The government believes that adult education must be based on the needs and
conditions of the individual and must therefore be carried out with great flexibility.”
(Information sheet p. 3, Utbildningsdepartementet, U01.003·February 2001)

The syllabus also describes a more individual approach:

”In their teaching of mathematics, schools must strive to enable the students to:
- develop confidence in their own ability to learn more mathematics, to think
mathematically and to use mathematics in different situations.
- develop the ability to reflect on their experience of concepts and methods in
mathematics and their own mathematical activities.”
(www3.skolverket.se/skolverket.se/kursinfo/00_01/skolform/21/amne/urskr/_MA.html )

In your work as a teacher of mathematics you meet students with different attitudes to the
subject of mathematics. Brandell & Wallin write:
“The study of mathematics is an area full of emotions with reactions which can vary from
“easy and fun“ to ”boring and difficult” and even ”incomprehensible and
meaningless”” (Brandell,Wallin: Nämnaren 1998:2 sid. 3)

A negative attitude to mathematics is something we have witnessed too. We have also

noticed that the students have problems relating school mathematics to reality. There are
a number of earlier studies concerning this subject e.g. Boaler who writes
“A great number of studies have shown that many students cannot use their school
mathematics in unknown situations outside school”
(Boaler (bearb. Emanuelsson): Nämnaren 1997:3 p. 16)

In a study from Singapore you can read

“Studentst in school must see how mathematics can be used in real situations. We must
encourage their ability to avoid working superficially with the information in the maths
problem.”
(Foong Pui Yee & Koay Phong Lee (övers. redakt.): Nämnaren 1998:4 p. 10-11)

4
In this study you can also read
“Many of the problems in school textbooks are unrealistic. These problems probably do
not motivate the students to solve problems; they only emphasize the students’ opinion
that mathematics has nothing to do with real life. In order to change this opinion we must
emphasize even more the connection between mathematics in school and the world
around.”

In our teaching we also meet many people with dyslexia. The way in which mathematical
problems are presented is very important to them.
”The presentation of mathematical items should be done in a manner which allows
different forms of presentation. Students should be more actively involved in the learning
process, for example through experiments and group cooperation”
(Malmer: Nämnaren 1996:4 p. 37)

Lately the concept of learning styles has been in focus in the classroom situation. The
connection between the study of mathematics and learning styles is far too big a subject
to explore in depth within this project, but the following short presentation of these
different styles is given as a brief introduction.
Visual people: They can remember best what they see. For some it could be in the form
of a text or, for others, a picture. The information is then turned into their own notes or
pictures.
Auditive people: Listeners who prefer oral instructions. They also want to discuss and
through dialogue reinforce their knowledge.
Kinaesthetic people: They prefer to learn through practical activity which they develop
through emotions and physical activity
Tactile people: They want to work manually, often with fine motor skills, when they are
learning.
This section concerning learning styles is summarized from Boström: Från undervisning
till lärande (Boström 1998)
In this study the following is also pointed out:
”…another basic idea with learning styles is that the students themselves ask questions
and search for answers and thereby also decide the way they want to work with different
problems.” (the above book, p. 78)
“The traditional methods of learning, visual and auditive learning are not very effective.
Discussing, learning by doing and teaching others, so that you immediately transfer what
you have learnt, results in the best retention of knowledge– and definitely not lectures.”
(Boström 1998 p. 78 -79)

Against a background of the points mentioned above we have felt it necessary to

supplement our teaching of mathematics with other methods than just traditional textbook
studies. To make our teaching closer to real life we have tried to devise experimental
tasks. To make them suit the Open Learning Centre they consist of “hands-on” boxes
with all instructions and materials included.

AIM

In our project we want to examine the attitude to mathematics of the students on the
mathematics A course when they begin their studies at Komvux, a municipal college of
further education.

5
We clarify our aim through the following questions:
- Can we make students more motivated to use mathematics in everyday life?
- Can we increase their understanding of mathematical problem solving?
- Can we do this by using tasks from everyday life in which the students themselves have
to look for facts and use hands-on material which are connected to real life situations?
- Can we change the students’ negative attitude towards mathematics by introducing it in
another way?
First we want to give initial questionnaires to all our students and then, based on their
responses, select some people for interview in order to follow their attitudes to
mathematics before, during and after the course.

TARGET GROUP

During the year 2001 we had about 200 students altogether at Komvux’s Open Learning
Centre for mathematics. Age and sex can be seen in figure 1 below. The project included
the students who started their studies at the beginning of January and September 2001,
approx. 100 people.

Members of the group

50

40
Number

30 Men
20 Women

10

0
-21 22-31 32-41 42-51 52-
Age (Years)

Figure 1. Members of the group

PARTICIPANTS

Those who carried out the project work as teachers at the Mathematics Open Learning
Centre at Komvux in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Our names are Christina Lind, Kerstin
Domeij and Siv Domeij. We are all highly qualified teachers of natural science and
mathematics. Furthermore, each of us has approx. 30 years’ experience of teaching
mathematics and science, mostly chemistry and biology. This experience is from
different levels of the school system.

ENVIRONMENT

The project has been carried out in Örnsköldsvik, a municipality with 56 000 inhabitants.
The town’s commercial life is dominated by industry comprising both big and small

6
companies. Komvux is a college with many different fields of activity: Swedish for
immigrants, education for people with dyslexia, courses at compulsory and upper-
secondary level (general subjects and nursing). The number of students is approx. 2000 in
all and there are approx 100 teachers and administrative staff. Last year numbers declined
considerably.
The Mathematics Open Learning Centre offers the upper secondary courses A, B and C.
The number of students during the spring term 2001 was approx. 220 people working on
approx. 260 courses, and during the autumn term 2001 approx. 180 persons on 220
courses. Four teachers shared 3,3 (respectively 3,1) teaching posts. Each student is
allocated a teacher who is responsible for help with planning of studies, tests and marks.
New students can begin studying each week and they make an individual timetable for
their studies (i.e. they plan how many courses per term, how many weeks they will study
and how many lessons per week). A teacher is available 18,5 hours per week. One to four
teachers are on duty at any one time depending on how many students have planned to
come. Times for tests are provided three times a week. Depending on the pace of study
the student can choose how many tests they want to have during the course. If there are
enough students working on the same point, it is possible to bring them together for
explanatory lessons. Otherwise brief guidance is given at the students’ desks, either
individually or in small groups.

IMPLEMENTATION

Background

Those of us who have worked with the project all have many years of experience of
teaching both in mathematics and science (chemistry and biology). In science there are
practical experiments; Why not in mathematics as well? We had already tried such
practical work on a small scale, but then in groups in which everyone worked with the
same task at the same time. When we learned that the organization “Kunskapslyftet”
offered funding for research in your own classroom we saw an opportunity to increase
and structure this experimental way of working in mathematics, and adjust it to suit the
Open Learning Centre. Through this we wanted to examine if we could change the
negative attitude towards mathematics, which we sensed that many of our students had.
Our application for funding was granted and we were granted 40% of a teaching post for
two terms.

Students’ attitudes towards mathematics at the beginning of the course.

We started with a questionnaire in order to examine the attitude towards mathematics

among our students (Appendix 1). We asked them what thoughts, feelings and
associations they had when they heard the word “mathematics”. On a six-point scale they
estimated if mathematics was “Difficult – Easy”, “Threatening – Fun”, and “ A lot of
figures all over the place – Logical”. It was also possible for them to make their own
comments. We also asked which course they had studied at the senior level of the nine-
year compulsory school, as well as their grades and attitude from that time. Then we
asked them why they wanted to study mathematics now. The alternatives were: “To
improve an earlier grade”, “to acquire a qualification for higher education”, “to fill up the
timetable to get enough points enough for the study grant “, “interest in mathematics”,
“need to improve mathematical skills”. The last question dealt with their use of

7
mathematics in everyday life. From the questionnaire we selected six students with a
negative attitude towards mathematics. They were interviewed at the beginning and also
later at the end of the course. The interviews at the beginning were based on the answers
from the questionnaire. Questions were asked to clarify the mostly very short answers
given in the questionnaire. The students’ responses were noted down and these notes
were shown to the students.

“Hands-on” boxes

Meanwhile we also made “hands-on” boxes with practical, everyday, mathematical tasks.
We already had some ideas for tasks, but during the work many new ideas arose out of
everyday situations. Some ideas also grew out of studies of literature and study-visits. We
found material for the boxes at home, in newspapers, in weekly advertising leaflets from
shops in the neighbourhood and in recycling-bins. We have also purchased some goods
specially for the boxes, mostly in second-hand shops. The boxes themselves are from
copying paper carton lids from college. The practical tasks were of different degrees of
difficulty, as marked on the box, and dealt with different aspects of the mathematics A
course. Here we simply make a short presentation of some of them. A wider range is
included in appendix 2.
Numeric calculation: What’s the price of a glass of squash? In the box you find an empty
bottle of squash on which you can read the volume, how much water you should add, and
the price. The volume of the glass can be measured with a measuring glass or a ruler (and
then calculated)
Percentage: Comparison of the same goods in different sized packaging. This can be done
with two bottles of shower gel, a small one with a volume of 250 ml and another of 400
ml and the text “Now 60% bigger”. Is the text correct? The big bottle has no price. What
would be a reasonable price for it? A further question can be asked, since there was a
temporary discount offer on the smaller bottle. How many per cent discount will you get
when using the coupon?
Geometry in combination with large and small numbers: The dripping tap. Calculate the
price of the water-leak for a year. You can use a graduated measure, a watch and a bill for
domestic water.
Functions: Car-rental contract. With a Moroccan car-rental contract, (written in Arabic,
German, French and English, which was appreciated by many of our immigrants with
Arabic as a native language), decide what alternative is best if you want to rent a car for
three days. You must decide yourself on a reasonable mileage. The task must be
presented as a graph and the cost calculated in SEK based on a given exchange rate.
The students were encouraged to work with the boxes alongside the same point in their
books. We collected running evaluations from our students in the form of a questionnaire
in which we asked what they thought of this way of working, the tasks and if their
understanding of maths had been affected by working with the boxes. It was possible for
them to give supporting evidence and also propose improvements.

Miscellaneous

The work with the report began. We read some literature to find support for our theories.
We also made a study visit to Paris where we visited, for example, the museum “Cité des
Sciences et de l’Industrie”. During the autumn term 2001 we continued our studies, with
questionnaires, interviews with six new students and work with new “hands-on” boxes.
To emphasize the importance of the practical work we introduced as an obligatory task

8
for all our students on the mathematics A course at the Open Learning Centre the handing
in of solutions to three boxes.

RESULTS/ ANALYSIS

Attitudes to mathematics at the beginning of the course

The result of the initial questionnaire is shown as a diagram and a choice of comments.

Associations with mathematics

30

25
Per cent (%)

20

15

10

0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Difficult Easy

Figure2. Associations with the word mathematics before studies in mathematics A

(n=104)
In response to the question whether mathematics is difficult or easy approx. 60% of the
answers were on the difficult side. Only a few comments were made in respect to this
question but, as an example, the following comment can be given:
“Hate maths because it is difficult”

Associations with mathematics

40
35
30
Per cent (%)

25
20
15
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Threatening Fun

Figure3. Associations with the word mathematics before studies in mathematics A

(n=104)
As to whether mathematics is “threatening” or “fun” approx. 36% were on the
“threatening” side and, of these, 6% expressed the most negative alternative. In addition,
these negative comments were made:

9
“Get frightened when I simply hear the word maths, and get a blockage when I must
solve certain tasks”.
“Worst thing I knew. Almost got pain in my stomach from thinking about it”
“Get a blockage just by seeing a task with text”.
Among the positive comments can be mentioned:
“Have always thought maths is fun and interesting. A challenge to find solutions”.
“Mathematics is fun if you can do it and understand it”.

Associations with mathematics

35
30
Per cent (%)

25
20
15
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6

"Figures all over the place" Logical

Figure 4. Associations with the word mathematics before studies in mathematics A

(n=104)
In response to the third question concerning whether mathematics was ”a lot of figures all
over the place” or “logical” approx. 37% thought that they had not seen any logic in
mathematics. The comments were few.

Reasons for a negative attitude

Attitudes from compulsory school were in many cases negative. Unfortunately, it is

impossible to say how large a percentage, as not everyone had made comments. The
following negative comments can be mentioned:
“Boring and difficult! Always heard how poor I was at Maths”.
“The most boring, worst subject of all.
“The worst thing that existed”.
“Something you had to endure”.
”Tough and difficult”.
“I did not care a bit about maths then because I had a bad teacher”.
There were also positive comments:
”It was fun and something of a challenge to solve”.
“One of the most pleasant subjects”.
”Had a bit of a problem with it at the beginning, but then I loved it”.

By analysing the answers given in the interviews we have been able to conclude that the
greatest cause of problems concerning the attitude to mathematics comes from things that
have happened during the student’s compulsory education. It has been impossible for the
student to keep up with the tempo of the class and then they have lost track of the subject.
Catching up again has been a problem. It has been impossible for the teacher with a big
group to help them catch up. The students have then lost interest and ended up in a

10
negative spiral. The problems of those with dyslexia have been particularly pronounced
when there have been more tasks involving a text. Most of those interviewed have had
problems with mathematics but have managed better in other subjects. After compulsory
school they have chosen an education without, or with as little mathematics as possible.
Also at work and in private life they have avoided situations in which they have to
calculate. The results from the questionnaire and the interviews support our theory that
there is an extensive, negative attitude to mathematics.

Attitudes to mathematics after the course

At the interviews at the end of the course we found that attitudes to mathematics had
changed. Now many students said that they dared to approach the problems and they felt
using mathematics was necessary. Among the reasons for the change of attitude to
mathematics, most of the students mentioned that they now felt much more motivated to
study than during their time at compulsory school. They also said that working at one’s
own pace was favourable since they avoided stress and comparison with others. This has
resulted in more self-confidence and mathematics has felt more fun. The practical tasks in
the “hands-on” boxes have contributed to better understanding and it has been a positive
experience to recognize problems from real life. For one of the students who had a very
dominant tactile learning style the work with the boxes was good, as she could touch the
material and use more senses than she could when just reading a book.

Evaluation of the “hands-on” boxes in a big group

As we introduced the solving of three boxes as a compulsory item for all students of
mathematics A, we also carried out an evaluation of them.

What do you think about this way

of working?

60
50
Per cent (%)

40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Very bad Very good

Figure 5. Evaluation of “hands-on” boxes - way of working

11
 What do you think about the task?

60
50
Per cent (%)

40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Very bad Very good

Figure 6. Evaluation of ”hands-on” boxes - the task.

Do you feel that your

understanding of matematics has
increased?
60
50
Per cent (%)

40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Not at all To a great extent

Figure 7. Evaluation of “hands-on” boxes - understanding.

From this evaluation we can see that “the way of working“ and “the task“ got very high
marks from the students. “Understanding” did not increase to the same extent, but was
mostly on the positive side. In our evaluation we have not separated the different tasks, as
no tendency to differ could be noticed. Some comments:
“It is fun to count something real”.
”You experience maths more naturally and appreciate what help it gives”.
“Good not to have a key. You have to think a little extra”.
“If you have avoided maths during compulsory school it is difficult to have enough time
for all the tasks in the book and then for the boxes too”.
“Personally, I need someone to remind me of the tasks, since I don’t give myself time. My
aim all the time is to hurry on to the next chapter. – What a pity!”

12
DISCUSSION

Result

The negative attitude seen in many of our students at the beginning of the course has
changed and become more positive. A variety of reasons can be given for this. One of the
reasons has been their work with the practical boxes. The solutions to the “hands-on”
boxes have been clear and well structured, considerably better than to those tasks in the
maths textbook. As there were no keys to the practical tasks the students had to reflect
and estimate if the answers were reasonable. Hopefully our students have become more
aware as consumers because a lot of discussions around “best buys” have taken place.
Other reasons, which have affected their attitudes to mathematics, have been that they
have now had the opportunity to work at their own pace and they have been more
motivated to study in general.
We have not tried to examine which of these factors has been the most important, since it
probably varies from one individual to the next. The main point is, nevertheless, that their
attitude towards mathematics has improved.
Working with the project has also affected us as teachers. We have become even more
aware of the anxiety for mathematics which many people feel. Our awareness of the
importance of introducing mathematics in a practical way has increased. It has also
become obvious to us how important it is to reflect on your own daily work and
document it.

Looking into the future

As an extension of the project it would be desirable to systemize the practical tasks and
try to cover the whole course. A plan of where you find the corresponding items in the
maths book would also be of great value. Then it would be easier for the students to
choose either the box or the book. Otherwise the workload could be too heavy for them.
Another extension of the project is to work out practical tasks for the more theoretical
courses B and C.
However, the very best point to work on is a change of teaching methods in compulsory
school so that attitudes to mathematics never need to be so negative.

13
References

Utbildningsdepartementet: Faktablad U01.003 ⋅ februari 2001

Skolverket: Kursplan Matematik A (SKOLFS 2000:5)

Brandell & Wallin: Från elit till massutbildning. Nämnaren 1998:2

Boaler (bearbetn. Emanuelsson): Projektorientering ger bättre resultat.

Nämnaren 1997:3

Foong Pui Yee & Koany Phong Lee (övers. redaktionen): Problem med
verklighet i skolan. Nämnaren 1998:4

Malmer, G: Matematiksvårigheter och dyslexi - ett försummat samband.

Nämnaren 1996:4

Boström, L (1998): Från undervisning till lärande (Brain Books)

14
 Appendix 1: Enkät (Questionnaire)

Namn: (Name)______________________________

Vi genomför en kompetensutveckling i samarbete med Pedagogiska institutionen, Umeå

universitet och Kunskapslyftet. Vi ska under vårterminen bygga upp ett självinst ruerande
material som ni ska kunna använda för att öka er matematiska förståelse. Det ska
innehålla laborativa uppgifter och vardagliga matematiska problem. Ni kommer att få
utföra en del av dessa uppgifter under våren. Vi vill undersöka om dessa uppgifter har
varit till någon hjälp för din inlärning och därför kommer vi att intervjua några av er
senare under terminen.

Vi vill att du besvarar dessa frågor så att vi får veta lite om din inställning till matematik
innan du började läsa matematik här på komvux.

(We are carrying out a research project in cooperation with the Department of Education
at the University of Umeå and “Kunskapslyftet”. During the spring term we will devise
self instructional materials, which you can use to improve your mathematical
understanding. They will consist of practical tasks and mathematical problems from
everyday life. You will carry out some of these tasks during the spring. We intend to
examine if these tasks have been of some help to you in your learning and therefore we
will interview some of you later during the term.

We want you to answer these questions in order to let us know a little about your
attitudes to mathematics before you began to study mathematics at Komvux.

1. Vilka tankar, känslor, associationer fick du när du hörde ordet matematik? Kryssa
i lämplig ruta. (What thoughts, emotions, and associations did you have when
you heard the word mathematics? Tick the appropriate box)

1 2 3 4 5 6
Svårt Lätt
(Difficult) (Easy)
”Farligt” Roligt
(”Threatening”) (Fun)
En massa siffror Logiskt
hit och dit
(A lot of numbers (Logical)
all over the place)
Egna kommentarer: (Own comments:)_______________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

15
2. a) Läste du allmän eller särskild kurs på högstadiet? (Did you study the
general or advanced course at compulsory school?)_____________________
b) Vilket betyg hade du?(What grade did you get?)_____________________
c) När gick du ut nian? (When did you leave compulsory school?) _________

d) Hur var din inställning till matematik under grundskoletiden? (What was
your attitude to mathematics during compulsory school?)________________
______________________________________________________________
3. Varför valde du att läsa matematik? Kryssa i lämplig(a) ruta(or).( Why have
you now chosen to study mathematics? Tick the appropriate box.)

För att höja tidigare betyg (To improve a former grade)

För att få full CSN-poäng (To get the full CSN-grant)
Behörighet till högskola (Qualification for higher education)
Verkar vara ett intressant ämne (Seems to be an interesting
subject)
Känner behov att förbättra kunskaper i matematik (Feel the
need to improve my knowledge of mathematics)
Annat (Other) ____________________________________________

4. Hur önskar du att matematikundervisningen skall vara upplagd? ( How

would you like mathematics studies to be presented?)___________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

5. Hur använder du matematik i din vardag ? (How do you use mathematics in

your daily life?) _________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

16
 Appendix 2: Examples of boxes

The price of beauty Mathematics A:

Numeric calculations
Calculate the price per litre of the products.
(Contents: Price-marked packaging from various perfumes, after-shaves, and nail
polish.)

Shampoo Mathematics A
Numeric calculation
Calculate the price per litre of shampoos of different brands and the same brand but with
packaging of different sizes.
Discuss your result!
(Contents: Price-marked packaging from various shampoos)

Soap Mathematics A
Numeric calculation
Which soap is the best buy?
Discuss your result!
(Contents: Price-marked soap packaging. The packaging contains bars of varying
number and size)

Washing detergent Mathematics A

Numeric calculation
1. How much cheaper will it be if you buy one 1-litre bottle of “Yes” compared with two
½-litre bottles?
2. Calculate the price per litre of different washing detergents. Which one is cheapest?
(Contents: 1-litre and ½ litre bottles of Yes. Other packaging from washing detergent. All
marked with prices.)

Marbles Mathematics A
Percentage
1. a) What is the percentage of green marbles in the little net bag?
b) What percentage of the green marbles is big?
c) How much greater is the percentage of green marbles compared with the blue ones?
d) How much smaller is the percentage of blue marbles compared with the green ones?
2. Make your own net bags with marbles and let your friend answer the questions.
(Contents: Net bags with marbles of different colours. Extra net bags and marbles.)

VAT Mathematics A
Percentage
Calculate the percentage VAT that has been added to the prices.
(Contents: Receipts from buying clothes, pizza and bus trips)

The tube of toothpaste Mathematics A

Geometry
How many days will the toothpaste last?
(Contents: Some empty tubes of toothpaste, ruler for measuring the size of the hole)

17
Making geometrical shapes of a certain volume Mathematics A
Geometry
Make them from sheets of paper and tape. Measure their volume by filling them with
peas to be transferred to a graduated measure.
1. Cuboid measuring 0.5 dm3 .
2. Cube measuring 0.5 dm3 .
3. Cone measuring 0.5dm3 .
(Contents: Sheets of paper, tape, ruler, and pair of scissors, graduated measure and
peas)

The Wheel Mathematics A

Geometry
How many revolutions will the wheel rotate when the tractor covers a distance of 1
metre? Calculate this by taking relevant measurements on the wheel and test your result
by driving the corresponding distance with the tractor.
(Contents: Toy tractor, ruler)

Making tubes Mathematics A

Geometry
Calculate the maximum number of tubes that you can make out of the big yellow paper
sheet. All the pipes must be the same as the enclosed red one.
(Contents: Tube of red paper (height 5 cm and diameter 4,1 cm), yellow A-4 paper, pair
of scissors, ruler and tape)

The relation between inch and centimetre Mathematics A

Functions
Use the gauge for measuring the tread on car tyres to find the relation between inch and
centimetre.
a) Write it as a formula.
b) Plot a graph
(Content: gauge for measuring tread on car tyres)

18