Activities
You and your class(es) can participate in Let's be Fair in any way that suits you: you might like to use or adapt one of the suggestions below, or to explore other ideas related to a 'fairness' theme.
Whatever you choose, please share a few words about your involvement.
Let's be Fair challenges students to think and work mathematically to solve problems. Many of the problems are designed to be explored in different ways depending on the students' current set of mathematical skills and experiences. Students are also encouraged to communicate with mathematics regarding their investigations and possible solutions.
| Activity |
Context |
Mathematical ideas |
|---|---|---|
| Unders and Overs* | Exploring fairness in games with a simple dice game in which the outcomes are not all equally likely |
|
| Fair Price for Water* | Determining a fair price for water supplied from a fictitious underground aquifer |
|
| Takes the cake* | Considering how to cut a triangular piece of cake so that everyone gets an equal share |
|
| Which trip?* | Determining the outcome of a preferential ballot to decide on a class excursion |
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| Starters | Some ideas which might inspire discussion and/or investigation |
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| Other resources | Links to external sites |
* Asterisked activities are provided as downloadable PDF files. Each of these files consists of an activity sheet master followed by a 'teacher notes' section with further information and ideas.
Many of the activities can be approached at a variety of levels of depth, abstraction and mathematical complexity. Teachers are encouraged to modify, adapt or take excerpts from any of the activities to suit the needs of their students.