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Circus towers: square stacks

Circus towers: square stacks

TLF ID L1935

Work out how many acrobats are needed to form square-shaped human towers. Start by building a square tower with four acrobats: two acrobats in the base layer and two acrobats standing on their shoulders. Examine a table and graph of the total number of acrobats in the towers. Predict the number of acrobats needed to build bigger towers. Describe how the number pattern is formed.

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Educational details

Educational value
  • Students identify numerical characteristics of spatial patterns.
  • Students extend numerical patterns.
  • Students enter data into tables.
  • Illustrates the usefulness of tables and graphs to identify and display patterns.
  • Introduces students to non-linear graphs.
  • Students generalise multiplicative patterns and rules using words and algebraic forms.
Year level

3; 4; 5; 6

Topics Addition Number patterns Composite numbers Multiplication Sequences (Number patterns) Perfect squares Multiplication tables Prime numbers Rational numbers Commutativity Distributivity Triangular numbers Mathematical expressions Computational thinking
Learning area
  • Mathematics

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: MassMedia Studios Pty Ltd
  • Organization: MassMedia Studios Pty Ltd
  • Description: Technical implementer
  • Address: NSW, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.massmedia.com.au/
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Person: Rod Rees
  • Description: Script writer
  • Person: Howard Reeves
  • Description: Subject matter expert
  • Person: Vincent Wright
  • Description: Educational validator
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au/
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Colour independence
  • Device independence
  • Hearing independence
Learning Resource Type
  • Interactive
Rights
  • © Education Services Australia Ltd, 2016, except where indicated under Acknowledgements. This material may be used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia (CC BY-SA 3.0 AU) licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/au/.