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Twizzle's Journey

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
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Twizzle, a female giraffe, needs transporting to another zoo as the zoo where she lives has been flooded.
It is important to plan Twizzle's journey very carefully. She must be healthy and calm when she arrives at her new home.
The lorry will need to travel quite slowly, so a short route must be chosen.
The lorry will be very tall to carry Twizzle, so the route must avoid low bridges.
Bendy roads must be avoided in case Twizzle topples over.
Every three hours, the lorry must stop at the side of the road for 30 minutes so that Twizzle can be checked and given some food and water.

Here is a sketch map of three possible routes:

map of routes
Each black space on the routes represents 30 minutes of travelling time.

Which route will give the fastest journey?
How long does the journey take?

This problem is taken from "Be a Zoo Vet", one of the Using Maths series published by ticktock Media Ltd. To view their online catalogue, visit the ticktock Media website .


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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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