Locus Mystery

This resource written by Shirley Fall focuses on constructing loci. There are eighteen cards with statements about an area of land centred on a four-sided field reputed once to have belonged to a notorious highwayman. Students are asked to discuss in groups and use the cards to construct the diagram and hence solve the puzzle of where to dig for the treasure.

The extension task is best developed using a dynamic software package and this can then be used to explore other potential scenarios.

Mathematics that students will need:
Constructions including right angles, parallel lines, perpendicular bisector of a line;
Loci of points which are equidistant from either a fixed point or a fixed line.

Teachers' notes including some solutions are in the Leading in learning teachers' notes for this collection.