Equations from complex shapes

I can form and solve equations with more complex shapes.

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Year 10

Higher

Equations from complex shapes

I can form and solve equations with more complex shapes.

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Share activities with pupils

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Lesson details

Key learning points

Sometimes you are given a problem with insufficient information to reach a numerical value.
Depending on the problem, it may be possible to write more than one equation.
It is possible these equations can be combined to write a new, more succinct, equation.

Keywords

Equation - An equation is used to show two expressions that are equal to each other.
Perimeter - The perimeter is the distance around a 2D shape.
Area - The area is the size of the surface and states the number of unit squares needed to completely cover that surface.

Common misconception

Some pupils may have an equivalent algebraic expressions without noticing.

Tell pupils to always check if their expressions can be simplified or factorised before deeming themselves incorrect.

Provide pupils with a shape, such as a kite, with algebraic expressions for each edge and ask them to come up with as many equations as they can from the given information.

Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).