Transition Work
(m+a)-ths2
At NLS we often use the website www.mymaths.co.uk to set homework and students
also find it a good place to look for help or extra practice. It covers virtually every
topic you will study in Maths during your time at NLS.
Task 1 – getting used to Mymaths
You will be sent a Mymaths log-in with instructions of how to access the site. We will
load on resources to your area that we would like you to try, but you can also explore
all the other areas of the website including the games section.
Task 2 – Investigating Maths
Below are two investigations, please try at least one of your choice. Read each one
carefully first to see which one you like best.
There will be a prize for the best piece of work for each investigation in September.
Think about making your work accurate, and colourful with clear explanations where
appropriate
How Big is a Billion?
A billion is a very big number.
Sometimes big numbers can be hard to visualise.
What is a billion?
A traditional British billion is one million million: 1, 000, 000, 000, 000.
An American billion is one thousand million: 1, 000, 000, 000.
The American billion has pretty much taken over from the traditional British billion.
So nowadays when you see the word “billion” on the TV, in newspapers or on the internet, you
can assume that it means one thousand million.
Ideas for billion facts you could explore
If you were born a billion seconds ago, how old would you be?
If a footballer earns £20000 a week, how long would it take for him to earn a billion pounds?
If you took a billion paces, how far could you go?
Or think of some questions of your own!
Task: Create a poster showing how you have explored one or more of the billion facts.
Extension Ideas
1. Find out about other “big” numbers, e.g. trillion, decillion, googol, googolplex.
Transition Work
(m+a)-ths2
Frogs:
 Open the investigation from Mymaths by going to Library >
Algebra>Expressions and Formulae>Frogs
 Play the game a few times to make sure you understand how it works.
 Try to solve each puzzle using the fewest moves possible.
Task: On a piece of A4 paper show how many moves it takes to solve the puzzle
using 1 frog of each colour, 2 frogs, 3 frogs and so on up to 5 frogs.
Extension Ideas
 Can you use your results to say how many moves it would take 10 frogs on
each side to line up correctly?
 What about 20, 100, 1000, or even n frogs?