Enthusing Key Stage 4 students to

take an active interest in mathematics

through the creation of a maths trail at
Snibston Discovery Park, Coalville

Akash Trivedi
 Contents

1 – Introduction Page 3

2 – Research Page 4

2.1 – Initial Questionnaire Page 4

2.2 – Content of the Key Stage 4 Curriculum Page 5
2.3 – Exhibits at Snibston Discovery Park Page 5

3 – Questions Page 7

3.1 – Brainstorming Ideas for Questions Page 7

3.2 – Drafting and Redrafting Page 9
3.3 – Formatting and Layout Page 9

4 – Evaluation Page 10

4.1 – Pre “Maths Trail” Evaluation Event Page 10

4.2 – Evaluation Event Results Page 10
4.2.1 – Evaluative Questionnaire Results Page 10
4.2.2 – Analysis of Feedback from Participants Page 12
4.3 – Changes Made Based on the Evaluation Page 13

5 – Future Plans Page 14

6 – Conclusion Page 15

7 – Acknowledgments Page 16

Appendix 1 – Core Questions Page 17

Appendix 2 – Core Solutions Page 39

Appendix 3 – Extended Questions Page 46

Appendix 4 – Extended Solutions Page 67

Appendix 5 – Initial Questionnaire Page 75

Appendix 6 – Evaluation Form Page 77

2|Page
1 – Introduction

The aim of the project was to “bring maths to life”; to motivate Key Stage 4 students and
encourage them to participate wholeheartedly in mathematics. The medium through which
this would be achieved was with a maths trail based at Snibston Discovery Park, Coalville.

Snibston was having some difficulty with attracting young people over the age of 13 and by
aiming this trail at KS4 students; this problem was to be solved. The idea was that a class of
thirty students could be bought to Snibston by their school and on arrival, they would split up
into five teams of six. Each team would be given a booklet of core questions and a booklet of
extended questions. In the allocated time, students were expected to complete all the core
questions and a selection of the extended questions.

The core questions contained elements of the Key Stage 4 curriculum that the students were
expected to know whereas the extended questions comprised of more challenging questions
that still applied the curriculum but as the name suggests, extended their knowledge and
applications of the maths.

Before the end of the event, there would be a presentation session where each group presents
what they learned and how they went about solving the extended questions. There would also
be a prize giving where the group with the best presentation, highest score on core or highest
score on extended would be rewarded.

By the end of the trip, designed to last half a day, the students would have learned how to
apply the maths that they have studied at school to relevant, more challenging situations in
order to enhance their mathematical experience. Students would leave more confident of their
mathematical abilities and excited about the future that maths has to offer.

3|Page
2 – Research

2.1 – Initial Questionnaire1

Firstly, a questionnaire was created in order to find out what Key Stage 4 students actually
think about maths and its applications. Answers were given by ten students based on a sliding
scale where:

1= Definitely
2= Probably
3= Don’t Know
4= Probably Not
5= Definitely Not

Darker colours signify responses such as “definitely” and “probably”, whereas the lighter
colours refer to responses such as “probably not” and “definitely not”.

As the results above suggest, even though most students consider maths to be a hard, boring
and tedious
subject, they enjoy it and are likely to choose it for an A Level option.

From this, it can be deduced that students enjoy the challenge of maths and therefore the
questions for the maths trail would have to be challenging too. This is so that it is not
considered boring.
1
A copy of the initial questionnaire has been added as an appendix. Refer to Appendix 5.

4|Page
2.2 – Content of the Key Stage 4 Curriculum

In order to create a comprehensive package for Snibston, research had to be carried out into
what the mathematical content of the Key Stage 4 curriculum comprises of. The range and
content of the maths that is studied should include:2

• Number and algebra:

o Real numbers, their properties and their different representations.

o Rules of arithmetic applied to calculations and manipulations with real
numbers, including standard index form and surds.
o Proportional reasoning, direct and inverse proportion, proportional change and
exponential growth.
o Upper and lower bounds.
o Linear, quadratic and other expressions and equations.
o Graphs of exponential and trigonometric functions.
o Transformation of functions.
o Graphs of simple loci.

• Geometry and measures:

o Properties and mensuration of 2D and 3D shapes.

o Circle theorems.
o Trigonometrical relationships.
o Properties and combinations of transformations.
o 3D coordinate systems.
o Vectors in two dimensions.
o Conversions between measures and compound measures.

• Statistics:

o The handling data cycle.

o Presentation and analysis of large sets of grouped and ungrouped data,
including box plots and histograms, lines of best fit and their interpretation.
o Measures of central tendency and spread.
o Experimental and theoretical probabilities of single and combined events.

2.3 – Exhibits at Snibston Discovery Park

After learning what the Key Stage 4 curriculum consisted of, it became necessary to see what
exhibits Snibston had to offer in order for us to relate the maths to them.

The following exhibits in particular showed great potential:

• Buses, trains and milk floats in the transport gallery

2
http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/uploads/QCA-07-3339-p_Maths_4_tcm8-404.pdf?return=/key-stages-3-and-
4/subjects/mathematics/keystage4/index.aspx%3Freturn%3D/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/index.aspx

5|Page
 • Different type of rocks
• Organ-like wind pipe structure
• Swings and seesaws in the outdoor play area
• Old colliery buildings (the headstock of the mines in particular)
• Water pumps
• Wind turbines and the electricity exhibit
• Various bikes; including a skeleton on a bike
• Gears
• Clock faces
• Different wheels all around Snibston
• A plaque showing the changes in transport costs over a period of around 200 years
• Prices of ice cream in old English money
• Mine tunnel supports/chocks
• Pulleys and cranes

After spending several days at Snibston Discovery Park collecting information, measurements
and pictures, it was time to produce an initial draft of the questions.

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3 – Questions and Answers3

It was important that the questions related to the exhibits of Snibston so that young people
could go there and enjoy the maths challenge. This would in turn widen their customer base to
include 13-18 year olds alongside the usual young children and (grand) parents.

3.1 – Brainstorming Ideas for Questions

A brainstorming session was utilised to link topics on the maths curriculum to potential
questions relating to the exhibits. The results of this session are summarised in the following
table.

Topic From Related Questions

Curriculum

Representing Tallying tyres from various wheels from vehicles.

Data
Representing data in terms of efficiency (i.e. regarding the water
pumps or the buses).

Mensuration Calculating the volume of different cylindrical objects.

Determining the amount of milk that can be loaded onto the milk
float, given various parameters.

Working out the volume of the water bucket near the pumps.

Proportion/ The enlargements of buses and then comparing ratios to evaluate

Ratios efficiency of the buses.

Working out gear ratios and thus applying them to questions relating
to bikes.

Angle Geometry The angles created by hands on a clock face.

Trigonometry/ Working out the height of a mine headgear given the distance to it
Pythagoras’ Theorem and the angle of elevation.

Various questions relating to the ladder of the fire engine.

To determine the height of the angled milk float chassis from the
floor.

3
All the questions and solutions have been added as appendices at the end of this report.
Refer to Appendix 1 to 4.
7|Page
Simultaneous Forming a simultaneous equation to find the price of a lolly and a
Equations “99” from the given information.

Percentages/ How the speed of the typist differs compared to the maximum speed
Fractions of the typewriter.

Percentage decrease in perceived weight when using a crane to lift a

heavy load.

Probability Combinational probability involving the Connect4 game.

Probability of a certain event occurring given that another occurs.

Graphs/ Graph showing the relationship between the wattage of a bulb and
Transformations the time it stays lit given a certain voltage.

Then using f(x) notation, describing changes to the graph when

certain variables are altered.

Approximation/ Estimating the number of bricks used in the construction of a

Accuracy selected building.

Estimating the surface area of the red train.

Calculating the density of various rocks assuming an accurate

volume but inaccurate mass and therefore combining upper and
lower bounds into the calculations.

Use of formulae Applying the formula for pressure to the mine tunnel and the chocks
used for support.

Mechanics Working out the moment produced when a person sits on a seesaw.
Moments
Applying this knowledge to show how to balance a seesaw with a
set of given masses.

Speed/Distance/ Rotations of the flywheel on the beam steam engine.

Times Calculating distance, displacement of piston.

Algebra Applying algebra to express the relationship between the number of

pulleys and the length of rope required to pull.

8|Page
3.2 – Drafting and Redrafting

Old knowledge was drawn upon to write questions that would be challenging for the students
but would also strengthen their mathematical abilities and their grasp of the relevant topics
within the curriculum.

The process of writing the questions involved frequent visits to Snibston, not only to make
sure the questions were mathematically accurate, but also to ensure that all the factual data
within the questions was not misinterpreted.

After a draft of the questions was written, work went into refining the questions. After
proofreading the questions numerous times, two sets of questions were produced that
reflected the major elements of the curriculum but also featured several demanding problems
that required thinking on a higher level. Even though this was the case, the mathematical
content was all based on the Key Stage 4 curriculum that the students would be familiar with.

The questions were just one part of the package. A set of solutions also needed to be derived.
Hence, a substantial amount of time was spent on calculating the answers to our own
questions and making sure they were correct by retrying them several times over.

3.3 – Formatting and Layout

Formatting the question booklets was necessary not only so that it looked professional, but
eye-catching to the students as well. The intention being that the stigma concerning maths and
its “boringness” would be dissimilated.

Snibston provided a document regarding marketing and branding. All resources produced
must adhere to the guidelines provided.

All documents must contain both the Snibston logo and the Leicestershire County Council
logo:

The guidelines also state the brand colours to be used:

Grey RGB Grey CMYK Yellow RGB Yellow CMYK

R: 75 C: 28 R: 255 C: 0
G: 99 M: 0 G: 210 M:16
B: 112 Y: 0 B: 0 Y: 100
K: 70 K: 0

The position of the logos is also dictated to be top centre or top right of the document.
However, for joint publications such as this project, it is possible to place the logos in
different positions.

The corporate font used by Snibston is “LondonBetween” which was incorporated into the
presentation and headings where appropriate.

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4 – Evaluation

4.1 – Pre “Maths Trail” Evaluation Event

Before trialling the maths trail on students, an evaluation event was organised so that it would
be possible to determine whether or not: the questions produced for the maths trail were up to
scratch or not; and if the approach, formatting, layout and mathematical content met the
objectives of the project. Hence, it was organised with the help of several academics and staff
members.

• Professor Tony Croft from Loughborough University, the former head of the
Mathematics Education Centre
• Moira Petrie, assistant director of the Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and
Statistics Support (sigma CETL) at the university
• Rod Bond, centre manager of the Further Mathematics Network
• Mark Lister of the Widening Participation Team at Loughborough University
• Antony Edwards, a postgraduate student at the University
• Alex Woodforth from Burleigh Community College, a teacher and a gifted and
talented coordinator
• Kath Perry and Andrea Bridge of the Learning Team at Snibston Discovery Park

Following a short presentation regarding the Nuffield Bursary and the project as a whole, the
people were split up into three groups and given a booklet of core questions and extended
questions to attempt. The entire core question booklet was to be completed in one hour.
However, from the extended booklet, only a selection of questions were given to each group
as they were quite lengthy. This set of questions were also to be completed within an hour.

Upon completion of the booklets, they were instructed to return to the conference room where
answers to the questions were available. During this time, evaluative questionnaires were also
distributed to learn more about the question booklets.

4.2 – Evaluation Event Results

4.2.1 – Evaluative Questionnaire Results

Three specific questions were asked about all of the questions:

1. Was the question easy to understand?

2. Was the question sufficiently structured?
3. Did the question meet your expectation of KS4 maths?

The responses that could be given were based on a sliding scale where the lower numbers
referred to answers such as “definitely not” and “no” whereas the higher numbers conveyed
responses such as “definitely” and “yes”.

Below are the results for the eleven core questions and seven of the extended questions based
on the responses from the eight participants. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, evaluation
of all the extended questions was not possible.

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From this graph, it can be seen that all of the questions in the core section were eash to
understand (with the exception of question eleven). Furthermore, the questions were
reasonable well structured and most of them related to the KS4 curriculum.

It is evident that some work needed to be done to a couple of the questions so that they were
easier to understand. By hitting two birds with one stone and structuring the question further,
this would be possible. This is as the information would be split up so less likely to confuse
the reader.

Once again, the questions on the extended booklet were also easy to understand. Moreover,
all of the questions were sufficiently structured. However, the mathematical content on
question six could be improved.

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4.2.2 – Analysis of Feedback from Participants

To gain a further insight into how the overall package was, a feedback session was held
towards the end of the event. During this session invaluable comments and suggestions were
received.

Some of the comments received were:

• More space is required for working out, especially for the longer trigonometry
questions where space for drawing triangles and other working out was sparse.
• Some of the questions are tough and so it would be worth aiming the package at the
higher ability students.
• A bag would be helpful in order to carry all the various equipment.
• Some lengthy questions are worth splitting up or removing altogether.
• The links to the KS4 curriculum are great and the exhibits have been used well.
• The answer booklet requires more intermediate steps to show how the answer was
derived.
• An A4 clipboard is required to make it more convenient to answer questions on the
move.

Overall, the participants were very pleased with the maths trail and were optimistic for the
future of it. Below are a few quotes showing what they thought of the event as a whole.

“I am very confident that we will be “I thought the activity was

able to use the trail. Despite being a
reluctant mathematician, I enjoyed
doing the trail and am very happy
with the way they’ve used the
museum.” – Kath Perry, Learning
Manager at Snibston Discovery
Park
excellent...it will be very well
received by the young learners that
go over to Snibston. I was very
impressed...and thoroughly enjoyed
the afternoon.” – Mark Lister,
Loughborough University’s
Widening Participation Manager

“A really thought provoking

“Tiring but enjoyable.” – Prof. Tony
activity.” – Rod Bond, centre
Croft, former head of the
manager of the Further Mathematics
Mathematics Education Centre at
Network at Loughborough
Loughborough University
University

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4.3 – Changes Made Based on the Evaluation

Firstly, based on the fact that several people voiced their concerns about the space allocated
for working out, the layout of the booklet has been altered so that there is a space for working
out immediately after the question. This ensures space is not an issue but also allows the
participant to refer back to the question, which is useful especially on some of the longer
questions.

Some of the larger more difficult to understand question have been removed. This also is
beneficial in terms of the time taken to complete the booklet. The original booklet was hard to
complete in one hour which was the time initially allocated for the students to complete the
booklet in. Thus by removing some questions, the booklet is now possible to complete in an
hour.

It has been arranged with Moira from sigma CETL of Loughborough University to provide
some sigma branded bags for the maths trails with the schools so it is possible to carry all the
equipment. This should address the issue of carrying all the equipment in one’s hand whilst
also having to answer questions, measure objects, etc.

An attempt has been made into making the answer booklet more user-friendly by adding
intermediary stages to solutions as recommended. This will ensure that students will be able
to mark their peers’ question booklet without the need of a maths teacher on hand to guide
them through the approach.

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5 – Future Plans

In the near future, soon after the submission of this report, the plan is to organise and run a
half day maths trail event at Snibston Discovery Park. As aforementioned, a class of thirty
high ability students will be invited to attend the pilot of the maths trail.

After an introduction, the students will be given the core booklet to attempt for an hour. On
completion of the core booklet, there will be a break for refreshments. This break could also
be used to give out the core solutions so that the students can check their answers.
Alternatively the core solutions can be given at the end of the session for the students to take
home along with the core booklet.

After the break, students will be given the extended booklet. As there will be five groups on
the day, the extended questions are split up into five groups, each worth the same amount of
marks. This will last approximately forty minutes and following it, the students will be asked
to present how they approached the extended questions and what they found out.

The students will be marked on their presentation and their answers provided. Prizes will be
given to the best group. Potentially, further prizes could be given to students with the highest
score on the core and/or extended booklets.

Prior the conclusion of the event, evaluation forms4 will be distributed amongst the students
who will get the opportunity to comment on how they feel the maths trail went. They will also
be able to make suggestions on further improvements.

4
A copy of the evaluation form is added as an appendix at the end of this report. Refer to Appendix 6.

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6 – Conclusion

Although the Nuffield bursary project is completed, the content of the maths trail will be an
ever evolving piece. Modifications and additions can be made based on any changes to the
exhibits at Snibston. I hope that another pair of Nuffield bursary students in the future will be
able to build on our project and develop another set of questions for KS3 students.

If the maths trail concept is a success at Snibston, hopefully a similar concept can be adapted
to other sites such as the National Space Centre. In this way, teenagers will be more attracted
to sites usually not visited by them.

Although it is early to judge the success of this project, I believe that the initial objectives
have been met. A comprehensive package has been created for Snibston to use, there is scope
for amendments as suggested above and the questions produced related directly to the
curriculum. This will not only encourage teachers to bring their students to Snibston, but once
the students have been to Snibston, they may tell their friends and family of their experiences
and hopefully this cycle will attract more youth to Snibston.

This project has been a challenge, not due to its scientific complexity or its venture into
unknown fields of research, but because of the fact that we had to develop the questions from
scratch; utilising exhibits from Snibston to convey the maths in the KS4 curriculum. To take a
step back in time and think like year ten students, bought out my creative and imaginative
side. Prior to this project, I did not know how these attributes related to scientific research
practices. However, after undertaking this project, I now know that these qualities underpin
modern research and I have learned a lot about research techniques and the myriad of skills
and qualities required to carry out a good research project.

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7 – Acknowledgments

This project could not have been carried out without the help and support of several people
who I’d like to take this opportunity to mention.

Alex Wilson – a fellow student and my colleague for the duration of the project.

Moira Petrie – our supervisor and mentor at Loughborough University.

Antony Edwards – a postgraduate student who supported us.

Rod Bond – not only supported us but also helped constructively criticize any of our
productions.

Kath Perry – manager of the Learning Team at Snibston.

There is not enough space to mention everyone who helped along the way and I apologise if I
fail to mention anybody, but a few organisations deserve my appreciation.

Loughborough University – allowing us to use its facilities and resources.

Snibston Discovery Park – for arranging any equipment, resources or information that
we required for the successful completion of the project.

Nuffield Foundation – for giving me the opportunity to participate on a project.

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APPENDIX 1 – CORE QUESTIONS

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 The Core Questions...

Name:

School:

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 Wheels

As you
move
around

Snibston, you will see many different types of tyres on various

wheels. Make a tally of all the tyres from vehicles you can see
in the galleries and in the outside activity area.
Tally Frequency

1) Cylinders

Circumference = 2πr Volume of cylinder = πr2h

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 As you go around Snibston, you will see many different types
Cylinder Height Circumference Radius Volume
A

of cylindrical
objects, from
pistons to mine
supports. Find the cylinders shown
in the pictures below and using your
tape measure, approximate the
volumes the parts of these objects
shown to 3sf. (HINT: start off by
measuring the height and
circumference of the objects)

B C 20 | P a g e

ed
 (9 marks)
2) Beam Steam Engine

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In order to pump 81 000 litres per hour, the flywheel is rotated
at 20 rpm (revolutions per minute).
a) How many litres of water are pumped by each rotation of
the flywheel?

(2 marks)
b) Assuming the model next to the engine is accurate, how
many strokes does the piston make in one revolution of
the flywheel? (One stroke is the distance the piston
moves from its lowest position to its highest or vice
versa)

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 (1 mark)

c) What is the distance travelled by the piston in half an

hour? (HINT: Look at the information sign to find the
distance the piston moves in ONE stroke)

(2 marks)

d) What is the piston’s displacement (distance from its

original starting position) in this time?

(1 mark)
3) Buses

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Give answers to 2sf.
a) If the height of the smaller bus is 2.2m, by taking
measurements, find the approximate volume of the bus.

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 (3 marks)
b) Given that the volume of the double decker bus is 98m3
and using the volume found in part a), find the volume
ratio of the smaller bus to the larger bus, in the form 1: n.

(2 marks)

c) What is the linear scale factor relationship between the

smaller bus and the larger bus in the form 1: m? What is
the relationship between n and m?

(3 marks)

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d) Compare both the ratios of the volumes of the two buses
and the number of seated passengers they can carry.
Which bus carries more passengers per m3?

(2 marks)

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4) Clocks

a) What is the obtuse angle formed by the hands of the

clock when the time is 10:10? (HINT: Think carefully
about this one!)

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 (3 marks)
b) What time will it be when the hands form this angle
again with the minute hand pointing to one of the 12
main points on the clock (e.g. five past, ten past, etc.)

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 (5

marks)

c) How long after 10:10 is this in hours and minutes?

(1 mark)
5) Mine Shaft

If you look from the outside activity area towards the old
colliery buildings you will be able to see the headgear from
the two old mine shafts. Stephenson Shaft No.2 used in this
question, is on the right.

a) Use your clinometer to determine the angle of elevation

to the top of the headgear of Shaft No.2 from the side of
the covered circular seat that is nearest to it.

29 | P a g e
 (1 mark)

b) If the distance between the shaft and the covered circular

seat is 55m, by using trigonometry, a scale drawing or
both, work out the height of the mine shaft. Give your
answer to 3sf. (HINT: Take into consideration that the
clinometer reading is not from the ground.)

30 | P a g e
(4 marks)

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 6) Ice Cream Van

1 shilling
= 12d (old pence)

If some children bought two lollies and one

“99” between them at a cost of 1 shilling 7d
and another group of children bought 5 lollies
and three “99”s for 4 shillings 4d,

a) How much did each set of children pay in old pence?

1st set:

2nd set:

(1 mark)
b) Set up a pair of simultaneous equations with the
unknown constants L and N and use these to find the
price of a lolly (L) and a “99” (N) in old pence.
32 | P a g e
(5 marks)

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 7) Fire Engine
a) Given that, at full extension, the
ladder is 19.3m long and the
minimum angle to the horizontal
at which it can be fully extended
is 30o, work out the maximum
value for the length that the ladder
can extend beyond the front of the
fire engine. Give your answer to 3sf.

34 | P a g e
 (5 marks)

b) Also, if the ladder must extend at least one metre over the
front of the fire engine when used, what is the maximum
height the ladder can reach? (Assume the ladder starts
1.2m from the ground when in use). Give your answer to
3sf.

35 | P a g e
 (4 marks)

c) Why must the ladder extend over the front when used?

(1mark)
8) Typewriter

a) If the typewriter can print a maximum of 125 characters

in 30 seconds but the person operating it is 20% slower
than the machine, determine the number of characters
that can be typed per minute.

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 (2 marks)

b) Therefore calculate the minimum time in which this

worksheet could be typed out by this person if it contains
1180 words, with a mean of 5 characters per word
(includes spaces). Give your answer in seconds.

37 | P a g e
 (3 marks)
9) Milk Float

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1 gallon = 8 pints Each canister = 10 gallons
Each crate = 20 pints

a) If the milk float is allowed to be

stacked only to ¾ of its height, work
out the maximum amount of milk that
can be fitted (in pints):

i. Using only the milk canisters.

(2 marks)
ii. Using only the crates.

(3 marks)

b) For his round, the milkman must carry at least 350

individual pints in crates. Find the maximum amount of
milk (in pints) he can carry obeying this restriction.

39 | P a g e
 This maths trail was
developed by Akash
Trivedi and Alex
Williams for a Nuffield
Bursary project. This
work was completed in
collaboration with
Loughborough
University and
Snibston Discovery
Park.

(5 marks)

40 | P a g e
APPENDIX 2 – CORE SOLUTIONS

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The Core Solutions...

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Wheels
71

1) Cylinders

2) Beam Steam Engine

a) 67.5 litres
Cylinder Height Circumference Radius Volume
A 0.68 m 2.40 m 0.382 m 0.312 m3

B 0.67 m 2.00 m 0.318m 0.213 m3

C 1.00 m 1.85 m 0. 294 0.272 m3

m

b) 2

c) 1824m

d) 0m

3) Buses
3 3
a) 20 m ± 1m

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 b) 1:4.9
98 ÷ 20 = 4.9

c) 1:1.7
n = m3

d) Volume ratio small : large = 1:4.9

Passenger ratio small : large = 1:4.6
∴ Small bus carries more passengers/m3

4) Clocks
o
a) 115

b) 1:50

c) 3h40m

5) Mine Shaft
o o
a) 12 ± 2

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 b) 55 tan 12 = 11.7
∴ Height of headgear is 11.7m ± 2m (ensure further
addition of distance the clinometer is from the ground)

6) Ice Cream Van

a) Set 1 = 19d
Set 2 = 52d

b) Lollies = 5d “99”s = 9d

(Equations: 2L + N = 19 / 5L + 3N = 52 )
7) Fire Engine
a) 19.3 tan 30 = 16.7...
16.7 – 8.00 (length of fire engine) = 8.7
∴ 8.7m ± 0.2 m

b) 17.1m ± 0.1 m

c) Would not be able to reach building or a similar answer

8) Typewriter
a) Maximum is 250 characters per minute
250 × 0.8 = 200

45 | P a g e
 ∴ Typist types at 200 characters per minute

b) 1770 seconds

9) Milk Float
a)
i. Canisters only: 1920 pints
ii. Crates only: 1080 pints

b) 1800 pints

46 | P a g e
 This maths trail was
developed by Akash
Trivedi and Alex
Williams for a Nuffield
Bursary project. This
work was completed in
collaboration with
Loughborough
University and
Snibston Discovery
Park.

47 | P a g e
APPENDIX 3 – EXTENDED QUESTIONS

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 The Extended Questions...

Name:

School:

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Blank Page

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 1) Pumps

Give your answers to 3sf.

a) Given that the area of a trapezium =

Calculate the volume of the bucket.

(2 marks)

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b) If the bucket tips when it is 80% full of water, what is the
volume of water required to make it do this?

(2 marks)

c) How many strokes does it take to tip the bucket with each
pump?

No. of strokes to tip

Pump
bucket

(2 marks)

d) Using this information, find the efficiency of each pump in

cm3/stroke.

Pump Efficiency

(2 marks)
e) The Archimedes Screw has an efficiency of 377cm3/stroke. How
does this compare to the other pumps?

52 | P a g e
 (1 mark)
2) Electricity

a) Fully charge the capacitors to 15 V and then time how long it

takes for each bulb to go out. Fill in the table below with your
results.

Wattage/W Time/s
4
10
21
55

(2 marks)

b) Describe the relationship between the wattage of the bulb and

the amount of time it stays lit.

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 (1 mark)

c) Plot your points onto graph of wattage against time and see if
the shape of your graph matches your description above.
Wattage/W

Time/s

(4 marks)

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3) Bricks

Estimate the number of bricks visible on the outside of “Ellis &

Everard Coal & Coke Merchants”, showing your working below.
(HINT: Don’t forget the corner bricks appear on two sides.)

55 | P a g e
 (5 marks)
4) Train

a) Using the dimensions given below, estimate the surface area of

the train (to 2sf) from the footplate upwards, i.e. not including
the undercarriage. (NB. Do not include the bumpers in your
estimation. Assume the footplate edge remains of constant
width on all sides.)
(8 marks)

b) The train needs a fresh coat of paint. 1 litre of paint can cover an
area of 4m2. If each can contains 750ml, how many cans would
be required to paint the train?

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 (3 marks)
Front view of the train

The length of
the entire train
is 470cm

Cabin

The length of the

cylindrical body is
310cm

Small Box on Footplate

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 Answer Space

5) Supports
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 Force
Pressure = 1 tonne = 1000 kg
Area
1 kg exerts a force of 10 N

If each prop supports a mass of 850 tonnes, calculate the pressure

applied to:

a) The wooden chocks

(5 marks)

b) The Desford chock (the radius of the surface in contact with the
roof of the tunnel is 20 cm).

Give your answer in standard form to 2sf.

(5 marks)
6) Milk Float Chassis

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a) Using
your

clinometer and previous techniques, calculate how high the back

bumper of the milk float is from the floor.

(5 marks)

60 | P a g e
 b) Name another mode of transport that uses an electric motor.

(1 mark)
7) Seesaws

1 kg exerts a force of 10 N
Moment = Force x Distance to pivot

A moment is a turning force. The further away a force is applied from

the pivot, the larger the moment. The action of moments can easily be
seen using seesaws.

a) Using the formula above, calculate the moment produced by a

person of mass 54 kg sitting on the end of the seesaw where both
ends are equidistant from the pivot.

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 (3 marks)
b) Six people of masses; 39 kg, 54 kg, 54 kg, 62 kg, 72 kg and 86
kg want to use the 3 seesaws. If each person sits at the end of a
seesaw, work out where each person would have to sit so that all
the seesaws balance.

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 (6 marks)
8) Crane

Give your answers to 3sf.

a) On the crane, for every pulley added the weight of the load was
seemingly reduced by 10% of the previous weight. How many
pulleys would need to be added before a weight of 25kg seemed
less than 15kg and what would be the apparent weight?

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 (4 marks)
b) The crane can lift maximum of 3.0 tonnes to 2sf. If its maximum
load was applied work out the perceived weight with the same
amount of pulleys as above. (HINT: don’t forget about upper
and lower bounds.)

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 (3 marks)
9) Gear Ratios

a) On the model, position one of the small gears next to a large

one. For each rotation of the large gear, how many rotations does
the smaller gear travel through?

(1 mark)

b) Express the number of revolutions of the small gear compared to

the number of revolutions of the large gear as a ratio in the form,
, where = revs of large gear.

(2 marks)

c) If you were to draw a line across the two gears where they
touched, how many times would the large gear need to be
rotated before the two sides of the line joined up again?

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 (1 mark)
10) Skeleton Bike

Pedal one of the bikes situated next to the skeleton on a bike. You will
notice that your feet on the pedals move at a different rate compared
to those of the skeleton.

If the ratio of gears on the larger of the two bikes you can ride ( )
compared to the skeleton’s bike ( ) was equivalent to the ratio of the
small gear to the large gear in the previous question

(i.e. = small gear: large gear),

and assuming that for every rotation of the pedals on both bikes the
wheels are rotated twice, if the skeleton’s bike travels a distance of
20m, how far will you travel?

(2 marks)
66 | P a g e
11) Bikes

Give your answers to 3sf.

a) Given the radius, work out the circumference of the wheel(s) on

each bike that is attached to the pedals.
Bike Radius/m Circumference/m
Penny Farthing 0.7

Tricycle 0.5

Safety Bike 0.3

“Boneshaker” 0.4
(Velocipede)

(2 marks)
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 b) If the ratio of pedal revolutions: wheel revolutions on the
tricycle, Penny Farthing and velocipede is 1: 1 but for every
rotation of the safety bike’s pedals, the wheels rotate an extra
40%, calculate for each bike the number of revolutions required
to travel 100m on a flat surface.

Bike Revolutions
Penny Farthing

Tricycle

Safety Bike

“Boneshaker”
(Velocipede)
(4 marks)

c) If the cyclists riding all four of the bikes are peddling at a

constant rate of 2.5 revolutions per second, how long would it
take for each bike to travel the 100m distance (to the nearest
second)? And what would be their speeds (to 2sf)?

Bike Time taken/s Speed/m s-1

Penny Farthing

Tricycle

Safety Bike

“Boneshaker”
(Velocipede)

(4 marks)

68 | P a g e
 This maths trail was
developed by Akash
Trivedi and Alex
Williams for a Nuffield
Bursary project. This
work was completed in
collaboration with
Loughborough
University and
Snibston Discovery
Park.

69 | P a g e
APPENDIX 4 – EXTENDED SOLUTIONS

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The Extended Solutions...

71 | P a g e
1) Pumps

a)

19
∴ [ 33 + 25] = 551
2
551 × 32 = 17632
∴ Volume = 17600cm3 (to 3sf)
b) 17600 × 0.8 = 14080
∴ 14100cm3 of water required to make the bucket tip (to 3sf).

No. of strokes to c)
Pump
tip bucket
Left 96 ± 2
Middle 97 ± 2
Right 67 ± 2

Pump Efficiency d)
Left 147 ± 7cm3/stroke
Middle 145 ± 7cm3/stroke
Right 210 ± 7cm3/stroke

e) Award all relevant comparisons and comments.

2) Electricity

Wattage/W Time/s a)
4 20
10 10
21 5
55 2.5

72 | P a g e
 b) As wattage increases, time lit decreases. Award similar logical
relationship.

c)

3) Bricks

1370 ± 25

4) Train

a) 190000cm2 = 19m2

b) 1 litre covers 4m2 ∴ 750ml covers 3m2

19 ÷ 3 = 6⅓
∴ 7 cans of paint required to paint the train.
5) Supports

850 tonnes = 850,000 kg

850,000 kg exerts a force of 8,500,000 N

a) Wooden chocks: 5.9 × 107 Pa

b) Desford chocks: 6.7 × 107 Pa

6) Milk Float Chassis

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 a) 2.5 tan 55 = 3.82m

b) Ice cream van or sensible answer

7) Seesaws

a) 999 Nm
b)
54 54

86 62

72 39

8) Crane

a) 25 × 0.9□ ≤ 15
∴ 5 pulleys required
25 × 0.95 = 14.76225
∴ The apparent weight would be 14.8 kg (to 3sf).
b) The upper bound is 3050 kg
5
3050 × 0.9 = 18800.9945
∴ The perceived weight is 1.80 tonnes
9) Gear Ratios

a) 1.25

b) Small gear : Large gear = 1:0.8

c) 4

10) Skeleton Bike

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 = 1:0.8
You will travel 25m

13) Bikes

Bike Radius/m Circumference/m

Penny Farthing 0.7 4.40

Tricycle 0.5 3.14
Safety Bike 0.3 1.88
“Boneshaker” 0.4 2.51
(Velocipede)

a)

Bike Revolutions b)

Penny Farthing 22.7

Tricycle 31.8

Safety Bike 37.9

“Boneshaker” 39.8
(Velocipede)

75 | P a g e
 Bike Time taken/s Speed/m s-1
Penny Farthing 9 11

Tricycle 13 7.7

Safety Bike 15 6.7

“Boneshaker” 16 6.3
(Velocipede)
c)

76 | P a g e
 This maths trail was
developed by Akash
Trivedi and Alex
Williams for a Nuffield
Bursary project. This
work was completed in
collaboration with
Loughborough
University and
Snibston Discovery
Park.

77 | P a g e
APPENDIX 5 – INITIAL QUESTIONNAIRE

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 Student Questionnaire
PLEASE COMPLETE THIS SECTION IN BLOCK CAPITALS
First Name: _____________________________________________

Surname: _____________________________________________
D
D
M
M
Y
Y

Date of Birth:

Female Male Year Group Entering Into: _________

Are you:

Your Address: ______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________ City: ______________________________________________

Please answer the following statements with your own opinions,

by circling the number that best applies to your answer:

1 = Definitely 2 = Probably 3 = Don’t know 4 = Probably not 5 = Definitely not

I enjoy studying maths at school.

12345I am likely to choose maths as an option for my A Levels.
12345I find maths boring and tedious.
12345I think that maths is useless in everyday life.
12345I think that maths is a hard subject.
12345I would be interested in an event with activities that improved my mathematical
knowledge.
12345I would be interested in discovering how maths can be applied to various problems.

12345

79 | P a g e
APPENDIX 6 – EVALUATION FORM

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 Student Evaluation

PLEASE COMPLETE THIS SECTION IN BLOCK CAPITALSFirst Name:

_____________________________________________Surname:
_____________________________________________Date of Birth:D
D
M
M
Y
Y

Are you:

Female □ or Male □Year Group: ______________________Your Address:

_________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________City: ______________________________________________Postcode:
____________________School/College: _____________________________________

Please answer the following statements with your own opinions,

by circling the number that best applies to your answer:

1 = Definitely 2 = Probably 3 = Don’t know 4 = Probably not 5 = Definitely not

This event has increased my knowledge of maths and its applications to solve problems.
12345This event has made me consider the possibility of choosing to study maths at A
Level.
12345I feel confident that I have the ability to study maths to a higher level.
12345This event has led me to believe that maths can be enjoyable.
12345 This event has encouraged me to do well with my studies.12345I have enjoyed this
event12345

Please turn over to the other side...

81 | P a g e
Please give honest answers - this information will NOT be given to your teachers and will help us
improve for future events:
What was the best/most useful part of the event? Why?

Was there anything that you did not enjoy or not find useful? Why?

How might the event be improved in future?

What do you feel you have learnt from the day?

Would you recommend this event to other students? Yes/No

Data Protection (to be completed by all students)

This questionnaire is part of an evaluative study to monitor the impact of our
activities. This evaluative study is taking place in conjunction with Snibston
Discovery Park and Loughborough University. Any personal data collected from
these questionnaires will be treated as confidential and will not be shared with
anyone other than the partners mentioned above.
For the purposes of this study, Loughborough University are the Data Controller
on behalf of Snibston Discovery Park. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you
have the right to see and receive a copy of any personal information that is held
about you.

I agree / do not agree* to taking part in the evaluative study. (* Please delete as
appropriate)

Signed: ___________________________________________ Date: _______________

Thank you for completing this form!

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