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Right Angle Challenge

Age 5 to 7
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
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Poppy, from Heighington CE Primary School, carefully described how you can make the different numbers of right angles. I have added the pictures to make it absolutely clear:

If you make the red stick upright and put the green stick across to make if look like an L you have $1$ right angle:

L shape

If you put the green stick across so it looks like half an H you have $2$ right angles:

red stick vertical, green stick horizontal but half way along red
If you put the green stick across the red one so it looks like a cross you have $4$ right angles:

sticks crossed

Hannah from Newstead Wood School and Georges (who didn't give his school or age) agreed that you can't make three right angles with just two sticks.

Perhaps you could work out how to make three right angles if you could use more than two sticks?


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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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