Issue 81: It's in the News!

It’s in the news! This idea for a mathematical activity featured in the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) Secondary magazine issue 81.

A pair of size 21 trainers has been found at a petrol station in Derbyshire!

Denise Bostock, who works in the lost property office for the police said, “You just can’t imagine the size of the person who could fit into them.” It is this statement that this resource explores, using the context of the shoes to make predictions – firstly, in a number sequence, and then by using survey data.

There are two activities. Both look at using mathematics to make predictions using the size 21 shoe as a context.

The first activity shows the students conversion charts for different systems of measuring shoe sizes. Students are asked to predict how long, in centimetres, the size 21 shoe might be.

The second activity looks at Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever to have lived. He wore a US size 25 shoe and students are asked to predict how tall the person who wore the shoes might be. This could involve students carrying out a survey to plot height against shoe size.