Practice Set · Part 1
Math is Playful
Pick up where we left off
Where we left off
Our goal: I can use patterns and relationships to make sense of the Tower of Hanoi puzzle and think logically about its solutions, explain why the method works, and use it on a problem I have not seen before.
The big idea: A pattern rule can predict forward and be undone backward, and it works because each new disc doubles the old moves, plus one.
Model to copy — Example · Work backward from 127 steps
- A tower took 127 steps to solve. For each new disc, the rule is “double the steps, then add 1.” How many discs were in the tower?
- Undo the rule: subtract 1, then halve: (127 − 1) ÷ 2 = 63
- Keep undoing the rule: (63 − 1) ÷ 2 = 31; (31 − 1) ÷ 2 = 15
- Stop when you reach 1 step: (15 − 1) ÷ 2 = 7; (7 − 1) ÷ 2 = 3; (3 − 1) ÷ 2 = 1
- Count the numbers in the list: 1, 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, 127 → 7 numbers
- The tower had 7 discs.
Start here
You did these with your group. Now do them on your own — the model above is yours to copy.
- 1
Same stepsFinish what the group started. Use the model above, step for step.
Try it together — then prove it: Discs: 1, 2, 3. Steps: 1, 3, 7. Find the pattern rule and the steps for 4 and 5 discs. Then explain why the rule works. What rule takes 1 to 3, and 3 to 7? (Double, then add 1: 1 × 2 + 1 = 3 and 3 × 2 + 1 = 7) How many steps for 4 discs? For 5 discs? (7 × 2 + 1 = 15 and 15 × 2 + 1 = 31) To move the biggest disc, what must you move first? (The whole smaller tower on top of it. That takes the old number of steps.) Why does the rule say “double, then add 1”? (You move the small tower off (old steps), move the big disc (1 step), and move the small tower back (old steps again).)Show your work - 2
Warm restartHow many lines of symmetry does a square have?
- A1
- B2
- C4
- D8
How do you know?
- 3
Warm restartA shape has bilateral symmetry. This means…
- Ait has four equal sides
- Bone line splits it into two mirror halves
- Cit can be turned in a circle
- Dit has no straight edges
How do you know?
- 4
Warm restartWhich capital letter has a vertical line of symmetry?
- AR
- BA
- CP
- DF
How do you know?
Practice Set · Part 2
Math is Playful
Keep going
You answered these out loud. Now write them.
Answer, then say how you know — the reason is the part that counts.
- 5
Think it throughThe table shows: 1 disc = 1 step, 2 discs = 3 steps, 3 discs = 7 steps. What is the pattern rule from one row to the next?
- AAdd 2 to the previous number of steps
- BMultiply the previous number of steps by 3
- CDouble the previous number of steps and add 1
- DAdd the disc number to the previous steps
Why is that the answer?
- 6
Think it throughUsing the rule "double the steps and add 1," how many steps does a 4-disc tower take, starting from the 3-disc value of 7 steps?
- A8
- B14
- C15
- D21
How do you know? Give a second reason as well.
- 7
Think it throughContinuing the pattern from 15 steps for a 4-disc tower, how many steps does a 5-disc tower take?
- A16
- B30
- C31
- D45
Explain your thinking. What would have to change for a different choice to be right?
- 8
Back to the modelA one-disc Tower of Hanoi takes 1 move, a two-disc tower takes 3 moves, and a three-disc tower takes 7 moves. What pattern rule takes you from one row to the next?
Sort it again — on paper this time
Write the letter of the group each one belongs in.
- Move the top disc of a stack to an empty rod
- Place a small disc on top of a larger disc
- Move one disc at a time
- Move the smallest disc back to the rod it came from earlier
- Place a larger disc on top of a smaller disc
- Move two discs together in one move
- Pull out a disc from the middle of a stack
- Add a fourth rod to make the puzzle easier
Practice Set · Part 3
Math is Playful
Words and reasoning
Word bank · Banco de palabras
Use the words
Fill each blank with a word from the bank.
- A problem designed to be played with — rules, a goal, room to imagine — is a ___.
- Objects or shapes repeated in a regular order form a ___.
- The rule for getting the next value from the one before is the ___ ___.
- To say what will happen before it happens, using a pattern, is to ___.
Explain the thinking
- 9
Find the mistakeAnother student made this exact mistake in this lesson. Explain why it is wrong, then write what they should have done.
The mistake: Doubling the previous number of steps but forgetting to add 1 — answering 14 instead of 15 for four discs, or 30 instead of 31 for five. - 10
Say moreWhen you sorted moves into 'legal move' and 'breaks a rule,' what made 'placing a smaller disc on top of a larger disc' legal but the reverse illegal?
- 11
Write your ownWrite your own problem about this situation, then solve it and show the answer. The situation: Three rods stand on a wooden base. On the left rod, a stack of discs is arranged with the smallest on top and the largest on the bottom.
Show your work
Practice Set · Part 4
Math is Playful
Show what you know
Last check
These two come from Lesson 10.2. If they are shaky, that is the lesson to revisit — not this one.
- 12
Show what you knowExplain your thinking — Which statement best shows what this lesson means by 'math is playful'?
- AWe play with math by imagining possible solutions and looking for patterns that help us think logically about puzzles
- BMath is playful only when there are no rules to follow
- CPuzzles like the Tower of Hanoi can only be solved by trial and error
- DPlaying with math means guessing until something works
Explain your choice.
- 13
From Lesson 10.2Explain your thinking — Which statement best shows what this lesson means by 'math is beauty'?
- AOnly things made by mathematicians can be beautiful
- BButterflies are the only living things with symmetry
- CBeauty and math are opposites — one is feeling and one is numbers
- DMath creates beautiful designs like bilateral symmetry, found in nature and used in human art, music, and architecture
How do you know?
- 14
From Lesson 10.2Your friend says only one of two flowers has bilateral symmetry. You test both by drawing a line through each flower's center and find both sides match on both flowers. What is most likely true?
- AThe friend is right — only one flower truly has symmetry
- BBoth flowers have bilateral symmetry, but the second flower's line of symmetry likely runs in a direction the friend didn't try
- CSymmetry cannot be tested in flowers
- DThe two flowers must be identical in shape to both be symmetric
How do you know?
Be honest — this tells your teacher what to do next
| I can… | Not yet | Getting there | Got it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I can use patterns and relationships to make sense of the Tower of Hanoi puzzle and think logically about its solutions, explain why the method works, and use it on a problem I have not seen before. | |||
| I can explain why it works: A pattern rule can predict forward and be undone backward… | |||
| I can justify my answer to a skeptic and connect it to a second strategy or representation. |
One question I want to ask my group next time