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Ladybirds in the Garden

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Primary curriculum
  • Problem
  • Teachers' Resources

Ladybirds in the Garden printable sheet

In Sam and Jill's garden there are two types of ladybirds. There are red Seven-Spot ladybirds with 7 black spots and black Four-Spot ladybirds with 4 red spots.

Sam and Jill looked at a leaf with three ladybirds on it.

"One Seven-Spot ladybird," said Sam, "and two Four-Spot ones."
"That's 15 spots altogether!" said Jill.
"I wonder if we could find ladybirds whose spots add to other numbers. I know how to do 16."
"And 14 is easy too," added Sam.

How would you make 16 and 14 spots with the Seven-Spot and Four-Spot ladybirds?

What other numbers can you make with adding 4s and 7s?
Can you get lots of numbers from 4 to 35?
Are there some numbers you can't get?

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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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