Fence post problems
Things set out with equal gaps between them: fence posts, trees, lamp posts and flags in a row or round a pond, the chimes of a clock, the cuts that turn a log into pieces. The student works out how many there are, how long the row is, how far apart they are, or how long the chimes or the cuts take.
The classic slip is being off by one: a 24 m fence with a post every 3 m has 9 posts, not 8, and 12 pieces of log need only 11 cuts. All the way round a circle, there are as many things as gaps. The picture numbers the gaps.
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What changes each time
- Rows of 3 to 10 gaps, circles of 4 to 12
- Gaps of 2 to 10 m, chimes 2 to 5 seconds apart, cuts of 2 to 9 minutes
- Ten kinds of question, from counting posts to timing cuts
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