Download Mistletoe_Maths_Investigation

Solve mathematical puzzles…
We are learning to…
•Test hypotheses;
• Tabulate systematically the information in a problem or puzzle;
• Identify and record the steps or calculations needed to solve it.
Mental/ Oral starter
Even if we change the
order of the numbers
on the bottom tier, the
number at the top will
always be the same.
8
3
1
5
2
3
4
5
Main Activity
What plant is this?
Interesting facts about
mistletoe
Mistletoe is a parasite that grows
on other trees.
Mistletoe grows mathematically.
Every year, each branch will split in
two…
Year
One
Year
Two
Year
Three
How many
new branches
will there be
next year?
Year
Four
Year
Number of new
branches
Year
One
Number of new
branches
1
Two
2
Three
4
Four
8
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Task One
How many new branches
will there be in the
seventh year?
Which year will be the
first year to see over 500
new branches?
Year
New branches
1
1
2
2
3
4
4
8
5
16
6
32
7
64
8
128
9
256
10
512
11
1024
12
2048
13
4096
14
8192
15
16384
16
32768
17
65536
18
131072
19
262144
20
524288
Year
New branches
Total branches
1
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
7
4
8
5
16
6
32
7
64
8
128
9
256
10
512
11
1024
12
2048
13
4096
14
8192
15
16384
16
32768
17
65536
Task Two
How many branches are
there in total?
Year
New branches
Total branches
1
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
7
4
8
15
5
16
31
6
32
63
7
64
127
8
128
255
9
256
511
10
512
1023
11
1024
2047
12
2048
4095
13
4096
8191
14
8192
16383
15
16384
32767
16
32768
65535
17
65536
131071
18
131072
262143
19
262144
524287
20
524288
1048575
Plenary
What have we learnt?
What strategies did you find
useful?