Sunday 14th March was ‘Pi Day’ (as in the US it would be 3.14!), and so The International Day of Mathematics (IDM) is a worldwide event that takes place annually on 14 March. The day aims to celebrate and highlight the importance of maths in the world, especially the role it plays in breakthroughs in science and technology.
Advanced Mathematics Support Programme and Mathematics Education Innovation have joined forced to set the theme of this year as “Maths for a better world”, and some maths lessons in years 7-10 have been used to explore this theme, within the context of global chocolate production.
In Mrs Wilson’s maths lessons, Year 9 girls were challenged to ‘make the ultimate Easter egg choice.’
Students calculated and analysed data relating to many aspects such as supply chains, profit and loss, taxes, Fairtrade, the Living Wage, environmental impact and much more.
They analysed the correlation between chocolate size and value for money, as well as calculating the environmental impact of packaging. The results certainly made the girls (and Mrs Wilson!) reconsider their Easter egg choices this year!
Mrs Wilson commented “It has also been lots of fun to apply maths in a practical way and for me to share with the girls some of my knowledge from my previous life as a tax advisor.”
This fantastic poster, created by Lola M, illustrates the processes, considerations and implications of making the ‘ultimate Easter egg choice.’
Categories: projects Senior School
