Resources by University of Nottingham

Circles in triangles

The task shows a circle or radius r that just touches the sides of a right triangle whose sides are 3 units, 4 units, and 5 units long. A square is constructed from the right angle with length r so that one of its vertices is at the centre of the circle. Further lines are constructed from the centre of the circle...

Analyzing games of chance

This is a concept development lesson that is designed to help students to:

• Overcome common misconceptions about probability
• Count equally likely outcomes using diagrams
• Discuss relationships between theoretical probabilities, observed outcomes and sample sizes

...

Arithmetic with polynomial and rational expressions

This resource features four short tasks that involve simplifying expressions.

The topics covered include expanding polynomials, using the remainder theorem, and identifying the zeros of a cubic.

This task resource is from the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service, a collaboration between UC Berkeley...

Best buy tickets

This resource features a task that involves modelling a practical situation using functions.

Students are presented with a situation where tickets are to be printed for a show. The task of determining the ‘best buy’ is given in an open format, with the solution of the problem being left open to students....

Bike ride task

This short task considers a distance time graph for a bike ride. Students must answer a series of six questions on interpreting the graph, including calculating speed.  

The resource comes with both scored and unscored student work. This is useful for peer assessment and ironing out misconceptions. A...

Birds' eggs: scatter diagrams

This task assesses understanding of scatter diagrams. A scatter diagram is presented that shows the lengths and widths of the eggs of some American birds.

The task involves plotting additional points on the diagram, describing correlation, interpreting a point on the diagram, and estimating the width of an...

Birds' eggs: scatter diagrams (14-16)

This task assesses scatter diagrams and lines of best fit.

A scatter diagram is shown of the length and width of birds eggs. There follows a series of five short tasks on:

• Plotting an additional data point
• Making a statement about correlation
• Making an estimate of width from a...

Building and solving complex equations

This resource develops the concept of solving equations where the unknown appears once or more than once.

Students are given the equation

x = 6

and then told that the value of x could have been derived from the equation

3x =  2x + 6

Students are then construct their own equation...

Building and solving linear equations

The initial activity in this resource asks students to start with x = 6 and write further equations where x = 6 is the solution. For example, subtracting two from both sides of the equation gives

x ­- 2 = 4

The next step is to use the equation given to build a more complicated one. An example is

Building functions

This resource is a short task that looks at transformations of functions.

Three quadratics are shown on a grid. Students must match functions to the graphs.

This task is from the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service, a collaboration between UC Berkeley and the Shell Centre team at the University of...