Resources by Bowland Charitable Trust

Magic Sum Puzzle

In this Bowland assessment task, students solve a puzzle known as a magic sum, in which the numbers 1 to 7 have to be placed in a grid such that both lines of numbers add to the same total. Students have to choose a logical way to solve the puzzle, make a conjecture then attempt to justify it. Students form...

Mission: Rainforest

In this activity students adopt the role of a small team of undercover environmentalists, deep in a tropical rainforest, on a mission to investigate and expose the illegal activities being carried out by a multinational logging organisation that is destroying the planet.

Rainforest involves four lessons:...

Mobile Phones

Students are presented with two mobile phone tariffs and have to explore at what point one tariff becomes better value than the other. They have to select a way of comparing the tariffs using appropriate graphs or tables, work systematically to explore the effects of changing the amount of time the phone is in use...

My Music

This activity provides the opportunity for students to analyse the similarities and differences between genres of popular music with particular focus on the variable measures of tempo. Students work in small groups and listen to different music tracks, measure the tempos and interpret and present the results....

Mystery Tours

This task consists of three activities and provides students with the opportunity to explore the use of mathematics in a travel and tourism context. Students adopt the role of newly-appointed managers at a travel company and are required to plan a tour of the UK, choosing the destinations, transport and...

Olympic Cycling

This Bowland assessment task is a very open task. Students are given lap times of the medal winners of the men’s team sprint cycling race from the 2008 Olympic games and are asked to create and answer two questions based upon the data provided. Students are encouraged to write questions which require a wide range...

Olympics: Are Women Improving Faster than Men?

Since women have been competing in the Olympics, there have been many cases where the women, at least for a while, have been improving faster than men. In this activity students explore whether this trend is likely to continue until women are out-performing men.

Students use relevant data to help model the...

Outbreak

In this activity students explore the use of mathematics in a disease management context. Students assume the role of scientists attempting to contain the spread of a dangerous virus and are expected to locate infected people, develop a successful antidote and manage a large-scale vaccination programme. Students...

Patchwork Cushions

A square patchwork cushion is made up of right angled triangles along the edges and squares in the middle. The first cushion made consists of only four triangles, the second is made up of eight triangles and four squares. Students are required to explore this pattern to find connections between the size of the...

Point Zero

In this activity, students assume the roles of various characters placed in difficult situations e.g. investigating a malfunctioning lift system, attempting to avoid activation a floor-based alarm, escaping from an underground railway network. Students will need to use thinking skills, reasoning skills and problem...