Despite this years’ inter-school mathematics competition being cancelled, the Hans Woyda club and its enthusiastic and highly able Year 8/9 members have enjoyed two sessions this term.
Whilst we generally discuss and solve problems, we also like to go off on tangents; indeed in the first week we found ourselves talking about complex numbers and the Riemann Hypothesis! I am always amazed by the intellectual curiosity, sharpness of mind, intuitive brilliance and camaraderie that I witness, and the beauty of it all is that it keeps me learning too.
A couple of typical problems:
- The product of five prime numbers is 1,000. Find the smallest of these numbers.
- A cuboid has the same surface area and volume. Suggest possible lengths of each side.
Answers: 1) 2 because it has to be even 2) 6 cm because there are six faces – think!
Mr Leadbetter (Teacher of Maths & Societies Coordinator)